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Opening

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: What is the biggest thing that you’ve ever had to forgive? That you’ve had to be forgiven for?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 50:15-21.

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” ¹⁶ So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ¹⁷ ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

¹⁸ His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.

¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. ²¹ So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

What is the context for this passage?

When we last left Joseph, he had been reunited with his father, Jacob. Since then, Jacob and his family settled in Goshen where they could continue to raise their livestock. Not only that, they were put in charge of Pharaoh’s livestock. They also acquired land there and began to increase in number.

As the years of the famine went on, the people of Egypt and surrounding area became more and more desperate. First, they bought food from Pharaoh for money. Then they paid in livestock. Then they paid in land. Finally, the people of Egypt themselves became slaves to Pharaoh. Joseph set up a crop share plan, where the people would plant their fields and then give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. Because of Joseph’s planning and wisdom, not only did the people of Egypt survive the famine, Pharaoh became very wealthy.

After 17 years of living in Egypt, Jacob started to prepare for his death. He gathered Joseph to himself and gave him one final request: that he be buried with his fathers rather than in Egypt. Joseph promised to do this. Jacob then blessed Manasseh and Ephraim, Joseph’s sons, and made them like his own sons. Jacob also blessed his own sons. When he was finished, he breathed his last and died. Joseph had Jacob embalmed, and all of Egypt mourned him for 70 days. Joseph then requested that he be given time to go bury his father, and Pharaoh gave him permission. All of Pharaoh’s officials along with all of Jacob’s family went along. Once Jacob was buried, they all returned to Egypt. This is where we start today’s passage.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 50 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God often works in ways that we don’t understand at first. Even though they followed God, Joseph’s brothers didn’t really see the big picture of God at work. The brothers intended to harm Joseph when they sold him into slavery, but God used that act for good.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People who have wronged others often fear that the person will hold a grudge. After their father died, Joseph’s brothers began to fear that Joseph would hold a grudge for what they had done to him. When we’ve wronged another person, we never can tell how the other person will react, even many years later.

People who have been wronged often hold a grudge and want to get revenge. Joseph’s brothers’ fear was well founded. It’s very common for people who have been wronged to hold a grudge and want revenge, even many years later. But they had not accounted for the work that God had done in Joseph’s heart.

People who are afraid try to protect themselves. In their fear, Joseph’s brothers approached Joseph with a plea: Forgive us. They say this instruction came from their father, although that is never recorded in the Bible. It’s possible they just wanted to protect themselves from Joseph’s potential revenge. They knew he had the power to do whatever he wanted with them.

People who have wronged others can ask for forgiveness. Whether the instruction to forgive came from Jacob or not, Joseph’s brothers did approach him to ask for forgiveness. They recognized that they had wronged him all those years ago, and they had been convicted of their wrongdoing. In fear and humility, they approached Joseph to ask for forgiveness.

People who follow God have a forgiving spirit. Joseph was a man who followed God, and he had developed a spirit that was like God’s—forgiving. When his brothers approached him to ask for forgiveness, Joseph forgave them quickly and willingly.

People who follow God can see God’s plan at work. As a man who followed God, Joseph was able to see God at work in his life. He knew that all the hardships that we went through—from slavery to prison—were all part of God’s plan to save lives. He held no regrets or grudges because he knew he was being used by God.

People who follow God are kind to others, even those who have wronged them. When Joseph forgave his brothers, he followed that with kindness. He didn’t have harsh words for them or push them away. He reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to save many lives through Joseph. When Joseph was sold into slavery, God saw the big picture. His plan was to use Joseph to save lives during the famine, including the lives of his own family and God’s chosen people.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

Forgiveness. What a beautiful theme in the Bible—perhaps the most important theme other than the general character of God. As humans, we have all sinned. We all are under condemnation. Although we can sin against other humans, our greatest sin is against God. He is ultimately the one who has the power to punish sin forever, and we have all sinned against God. There’s nothing we can do to atone for our sin on our own. Yet God made a way.

In his mighty plan, God found the one and only way that sin could be atoned for—the perfect sacrifice for all sin. This sacrifice was his Son, Jesus. Jesus, one part of the Trinity, God himself, came down to earth to live as a human. He lived a perfect life without any sin, which qualified him to be the perfect sacrifice. He died a horrible death on a cross to pay the penalty for sin once and for all.

How should we respond to this sacrifice on our behalf? If we want to receive God’s forgiveness, all we have to do is believe that Jesus died and paid the penalty for sin on our behalf, and then rose again to conquer sin and death for all eternity. We have to confess our sins and repent of them, turning away from sin to follow God. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Just like Joseph forgave his brothers, God will forgive us if we confess our sins to him.

How will you respond to Jesus’ sacrifice on your behalf? Will you believe in him and confess your sins to receive forgiveness and eternal life? Or will you turn your back and walk away? I hope you choose forgiveness.

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read the verse list that goes with the God is Forgiving study in the Characteristics of God series.

Forgiving Verse List

464KB ∙ PDF file

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Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 50 Resources

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Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 50

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Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 50

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*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

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Opening

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: What was the most significant move you’ve made in your lifetime?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 45:25-46:7, 26-30.

²⁵ So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. ²⁶ They told him, “Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt.” Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. ²⁷ But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. ²⁸ And Israel said, “I’m convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

46 So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

² And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

³ “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. ⁴ I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”

⁵ Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. ⁶ So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt, taking with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan. ⁷ Jacob brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.

²⁶ All those who went to Egypt with Jacob—those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six persons. ²⁷ With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy in all.

²⁸ Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When they arrived in the region of Goshen, ²⁹ Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time.

³⁰ Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive.”

What is the context for this passage?

It’s been a long journey for Joseph. After being sold into Egypt as a slave, being falsely accused of adultery and being thrown into prison, and then rising to a place of authority and honor with Pharaoh, Joseph is once again united with his family, including his brother Benjamin.

Once Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, Joseph and Pharaoh loaded up some carts with gifts and provisions for the brothers’ journey, and the brothers went back home with the intent of convincing Jacob to move to Egypt and be reunited with Joseph.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 45 and Genesis 46 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When God spoke to Jacob, he identified himself as the God of Jacob’s father, Isaac. We see throughout Genesis that God is the God of this whole family line, starting with Abraham and then being passed down to Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob’s 12 sons.

God speaks to his people. When Jacob was in Beersheba, God took the opportunity to speak to him in the place that he had spoken to Jacob’s forefathers. When God has a specific message for his people, he always makes sure they hear it.

God does not want his people to be afraid. Jacob is getting old at this point in life, and moving to a new place far away from everything he knows, including moving to a new culture, would likely be a bit scary. When God speaks to Jacob, he assures Jacob that he should not be afraid of this new chapter in his life.

God keeps his promises. Over and over again through the stories in Genesis, we see God keep his promises and confirm his promises to his people. God promised Abraham that he would become a great nation, and he promises Jacob that he will make Jacob into a great nation in Egypt. Jacob has a good start on this already, as he’s moving all his offspring to Egypt with him—70 in all, including Joseph’s sons, plus all the in-laws and grandchildren.

God remains with his people. In his promise to Jacob, God promises to be with him even in the move to Egypt. Jacob doesn’t have to be in the “Promised Land” in order for God to remain with him. God will be with him wherever he goes. The same promise is true for all Christians everywhere.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People rejoice with good news. Once Jacob got over his disbelief that Joseph was alive, he was overjoyed. His spirit revived and he was immediately ready to travel to go see Joseph.

People who follow God worship him. Once Jacob and his family set out for Egypt, he worshiped God once he reached Beersheba. Beersheba is where Abraham worshiped God in Genesis 21 and settled in Genesis 22. That’s where God confirmed his covenant with Isaac in Genesis 26. Jacob himself had stopped in Beersheba on the way to his uncle Laban’s house when he was running from Esau in Genesis 28. It makes sense that he would stop to worship God again in Beersheba.

People who follow God recognize his voice. When God spoke to Jacob in a dream, Jacob recognized God’s voice and responded, “Here I am.” When people truly follow God and remain connected to him, they will recognize God’s voice when he speaks.

People are eager to meet those they haven’t seen in a long time. Just as Jacob was eager to leave his homeland to go see Joseph, Joseph couldn’t stand to remain at home and let Jacob come to him. Instead, he watched and waited and prepared, and as soon as he knew his father was close, he went out to meet him.

People find peace when old hurts are healed. Once Jacob was reunited with Joseph and knew for himself that Joseph was a live and well, Jacob felt peace within. He now knew that he would die in peace because he had been reunited with Joseph.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to move the entire family of Israel to Egypt. From the beginning when Joseph was sold into slavery, God’s plan was that eventually, the entire family of Israel would move down to Egypt. He sent Joseph before them to prepare the way.

God’s plan was to make Israel into a great nation in Egypt. Since the time of Abraham, God had promised to make Abraham’s descendants into a great nation. In this passage, we see that God plans to fulfill this promise while they are living in Egypt.

God’s plan was for Jacob to reunite with Joseph. God sent Joseph to prepare the way for his family during a time of famine, but his intent was never to break up the family forever. His plan was that when the time was right, Jacob would be reunited with Joseph.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

Throughout the Bible, there’s a theme of God remaining with his people. Whether it was Noah or Abraham or Jacob or David or the prophets or the disciples or Christians in general, God has promised to remain with those who follow him. Because God is with us, we don’t have to be afraid. When hardships or changes come, we can have peace and hope because we know that God is with us and he has a plan. We can be assured of this because the Bible tells us over and over again that God keeps his promises. It’s an essential part of his character. He cannot go back against his word.

Another theme we see throughout the Bible is that those who know God and follow him will recognize his voice. I’m reminded of the story of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3. He was young, and when he first heard God’s voice, he didn’t recognize it. He thought it was his mentor, Eli, calling to him. Eli finally realized that God was speaking to Samuel, so he told Samuel to respond, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” From then on, Samuel was in tune with God’s voice.

We see the same theme in John 10. Jesus says that he is the good shepherd, and just like sheep know their shepherd’s voice, so God’s people will know his voice. If you believe in Jesus, do you recognize his voice? God’s voice can speak to you through his word, through other people, through creation, and any other means that he wants to use. Do you know him well enough to discern his voice from other voices around you?

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Genesis 46:8-25, 31-34; Genesis 47:1-12.

Subscribe now

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 45-46 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 46

135KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 46

133KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

Subscribe now

Opening

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: What is the biggest surprise you’ve ever had?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 45:1-24.

45 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

³ Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ⁶ For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. ⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

⁸ “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. ⁹ Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. ¹⁰ You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. ¹¹ I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’

¹² “You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. ¹³ Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”

¹⁴ Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. ¹⁵ And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶ When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. ¹⁷ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan, ¹⁸ and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.’

¹⁹ “You are also directed to tell them, ‘Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. ²⁰ Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.’”

²¹ So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them carts, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he also gave them provisions for their journey. ²² To each of them he gave new clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes. ²³ And this is what he sent to his father: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey. ²⁴ Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way!”

What is the context for this passage?

We last saw Joseph in Genesis 42, where he encountered his brothers who had come to Egypt to buy grain during the famine. Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Joseph accused them of being spies, even though he knew they were not, in order to try to find out more about his family. In the end, Simeon was thrown in prison while the other brothers were tasked with bringing Benjamin back to Egypt. Joseph not only sent the other brothers back home with the grain they requested, but he also put all their silver back in their sacks. This frightened the brothers even more once they discovered it.

After some time, Jacob asked his sons to go back to Egypt to buy more food. They refused, saying that they could not go back unless Benjamin went with them. Jacob would not let Benjamin go until they were desperate. Then he not only sent Benjamin with the other brothers but also sent a gift to give to Joseph (not knowing it was Joseph at the time).

Once the brothers, including Benjamin, returned to Egypt, Joseph had them taken to his house and prepared a large meal for them. Simeon was also set free, and the brothers were together once again. When Joseph saw Benjamin, he had to leave and find a place to weep. Once he had controlled himself, the food was served, and Benjamin received five times as much as the other brothers.

Once the feast was over, Joseph filled the brothers’ grain sacks and put their silver in each bag, just as he had done the first time. Then he also had his steward put his silver cup in Benjamin’s sack. Once the brothers had gone on their way, Joseph sent his steward after them, accusing them of stealing his silver cup. The brothers claimed that they had not done this, but when the steward searched, the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. The deal was that the one who stole the cup would become Joseph’s slave.

When the brothers realized the cup was in Benjamin’s sack, they all returned to the city and stood before Joseph. All the brothers said they would become Joseph’s slaves, but Joseph said only the one who had the cup would be his slave. Judah spoke up on behalf of the brothers to tell the story of Jacob and his two beloved sons. He stated that they could not go back to their father without the youngest son, Benjamin. Judah offered to remain as a slave in Benjamin’s place. That’s where we meet up with the story in this lesson.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 45 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God knows the future. God knew what would happen in the future—the famine that would wipe out people if no one was there to prepare for it. So he sent Joseph to Egypt to be a leader to bring the land of Egypt and all those surrounding Egypt through the famine safely.

God sets plans in motion to fulfill his purposes. Because God knew what would happen in the future, he set plans in motion to save his people. The first step was Joseph’s brothers selling Joseph into slavery. Joseph recognized that this act was really part of God’s plan all along.

God is able to deliver his people. Part of God’s plan was that he would deliver his people, not only from the famine but eventually from slavery.

God provides for his people. God knew that if he didn’t step in, the family that he had chosen to be his people would end up destitute because of the famine. So he provided for them by sending Joseph to Egypt ahead of them so that he could give them food and other provisions in their time of need.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People can be very emotional in extreme circumstances. Look at all the emotions running through this story. Joseph couldn’t control his weeping, which was so loud that even people outside the room heard it and spread the news about it. The brothers were terrified when they realized who Joseph was. Joseph told the brothers not to be distressed or angry with themselves. Overall, it appears to be a happy reunion once all the emotions settled down.

People experience the freedom to reveal the truth when the time is right. Once Joseph had seen Benjamin and knew the time was right, he revealed who he was to his brothers. Not only that, but he revealed how God had been working in his life and how God was using him to provide for his people.

People who meet others they haven’t seen in a long time ask for information about those they know. When Joseph finally revealed who he was, he immediately asked about his father. That’s the one person he wanted news about.

People who understand God’s will often feel an urgency to obey. When Joseph set the plan before his brothers to bring Jacob and the whole family to Egypt, he urged them to not delay. He knew how bad the famine would be, and he wanted his family in a place where he could provide for them easily.

People who have succeeded want to tell others about it. Joseph asked his brothers to relay the news to Jacob about the success Joseph had in Egypt. All these years that Jacob thought Joseph was dead, and instead God was using Joseph to fulfill his plan. Joseph wanted his brothers to tell their father all they had seen.

People experience joy at the fortune of others. When Pharaoh and all those in the palace heard the good news about Joseph’s brothers, they were pleased. They weren’t distressed that Joseph hadn’t revealed who he was to them. They were sincerely happy that Joseph had been reunited with his family.

People give gifts to those they care about. Because Pharaoh cared for Joseph, that care extended to Joseph’s family. When Pharaoh heard that Joseph’s brothers were there, he gave them provisions and invited them to move to Egypt, where they would have access to the best in the land. Joseph also gave gifts to his brothers for their return back home.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to use Joseph to save lives. When Joseph’s brothers sold Joseph into slavery, that was part of God’s plan to use Joseph to save lives. God knew the famine was coming, so he put Joseph in place to help save the people from the seven years of famine. Without this plan, many people would have starved.

God’s plan was to preserve a remnant of his people on earth. God didn’t just randomly save people. He specifically had a plan to save Abraham’s descendants so that he could fulfill his promise to Abraham that his descendants would be great and that many people would be blessed through him.

God’s plan was to bring Jacob’s family to Egypt. Part of God’s plan was to bring Jacob and his family to live in Egypt. For a while, they would enjoy the best Egypt had to offer, and they would multiply and become a strong nation, just as God had promised Abraham.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

Joseph’s life started out strong—he was the favored son. Then due to jealousy, he was sold into slavery, where he languished in slavery or in prison for many years before he found himself in the place God wanted him—in Pharaoh’s palace. Once there, he was able to make a plan to save the land of Egypt from famine.

Joseph’s life parallels the story of the nation of Israel. They started out strong as God’s favored family. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all wealthy, until the famine. Then once Jacob and his sons learned that Joseph was still alive and thriving in Egypt, they moved to Egypt and became a favored and blessed family in Egypt. Then due to fear, the Israelites were forced into slavery in Egypt for 400 years. But through God’s deliverance, he brought them out of slavery and out of Egypt into the Promised Land.

Our lives are much the same. Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, a land of blessing and plenty and perfection. But due to their choice to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they introduced sin to all humankind. Because of this, we too are slaves—slaves to sin. We cannot do anything to free ourselves from the bondage of sin. But God sent someone to deliver us, just like he sent Joseph to deliver the land of Egypt and his family, and just like he sent Moses to deliver the Israelites. God sent Jesus, his one and only Son, to come to earth to live a perfect life and die a horrible death to pay the penalty for our sins. If we believe in him, we too can be freed from slavery and brought into a place of blessing—a place where we receive eternal life.

Share

Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read John 8:31-38, Romans 6:15-23.

Subscribe now

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 45 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 45

137KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 45

136KB ∙ PDF file

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Opening

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: Have you ever been reunited with someone after being apart for a long time? Did you recognize each other easily?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 42:1-38.

42 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” ² He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”

³ Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. ⁵ So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.

⁶ Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. ⁷ As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked.

“From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”

⁸ Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. ⁹ Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”

¹⁰ “No, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food. ¹¹ We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”

¹² “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”

¹³ But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”

¹⁴ Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies! ¹⁵ And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” ¹⁷ And he put them all in custody for three days.

¹⁸ On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: ¹⁹ If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. ²⁰ But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.

²¹ They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”

²² Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.” ²³ They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.

²⁴ He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.

²⁵ Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man’s silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them, ²⁶ they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left.

²⁷ At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack. ²⁸ “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.”

Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”

²⁹ When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, ³⁰ “The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. ³¹ But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. ³² We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’

³³ “Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. ³⁴ But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.’”

³⁵ As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. ³⁶ Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”

³⁷ Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.”

³⁸ But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”

What is the context for this passage?

Last week, we saw God give Pharaoh dreams that foretold 7 years of abundance followed by 7 years of famine. Only Egypt had the foreknowledge of the famine, and they planned for it by storing up the excess from the 7 years of abundance. Joseph was the one who made the plan, and he was also put in charge of following through on the plan. When the time of the famine came in Egypt and all around, Egypt was prepared, but no one else was. Therefore, people within traveling distance of Egypt went to Egypt to buy food.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 42 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God spread famine far beyond Egypt. When God brought famine on the land of Egypt as he foretold through Pharaoh’s dreams, he also brought famine on all the surrounding lands. We know from this story that the famine spread at least as far as Canaan, although it was likely far beyond that as well.

God inspires fear in the people who follow him. Joseph stated that he feared God. What does it mean to fear God? Part of it is true fear related to the possibility of judgment, but for those who follow God, fear is more a sense of awe and reverence and willingness to submit to God’s authority. God inspires fear in people who follow him through his holiness, love, and so many other characteristics.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People who are starving seek out food. Joseph’s family in Canaan was without food because of the famine. Jacob thought that they would die if they didn’t go seek out food somewhere else. Because they had heard that there was food in Egypt, that was where Jacob sent his sons.

People protect those they love most. Even though Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy food, he didn’t send one son—Benjamin. Benjamin was Joseph’s full brother, born of Jacob’s beloved Rachel. Jacob couldn’t bear to lose Benjamin like he lost Joseph, so he didn’t allow Benjamin to go on the trip to Egypt.

People bow down to those in high authority. When Joseph’s brothers saw Joseph, they bowed down to him. This wasn’t because they recognized him and were humbled. It was because Joseph was in a position of high esteem that required people to bow to him.

People sometimes hide their identity from others. When Joseph realized that his brothers didn’t recognize him, he intentionally continued to hide his identity from them. He didn’t reveal who he was in order to manipulate the situation.

Some people are better than others at recognizing people they know. Joseph recognized his brothers almost immediately, but his brothers did not recognize him. This is likely because of a difference in age and cultural style that worked to hide Joseph’s identity more than the brothers.

People share more information when they are being falsely accused. When Joseph started to accuse the brothers of being spies, the brothers instantly started to provide him with more information than he asked for just to try to prove their innocence. In this way, Joseph found out information about his father and his brother, Benjamin.

People sometimes test others to determine their honesty. Even though Joseph’s brothers were telling a story consistent with what Joseph would have known, he tested them by telling them to bring their other brother to Egypt. He wanted to see his brother for himself.

People carry guilt around with them for past decisions. When Joseph laid out his ultimatum for his brothers, his brothers instantly felt like they were being punished for what they had done to Joseph. Through all the years, they’ve carried around the guilt of selling Joseph into slavery. That guilt was doubled when they found silver in their sacks, and they felt that God himself was bringing trouble upon them.

People share the events that have happened to them. When the brothers went back home, they reported to Jacob all the events that happened to them, from being accused of being spies to the task that Joseph had given them.

People are frightened when something unexpected happens. When Joseph’s brothers found that all of them had their silver in their grain sacks, they were frightened. They knew how harsh Joseph had been to them, and they knew this would bring more trouble on their heads. What they didn’t know what that this was Joseph’s and God’s way of providing for them.

People fall into despair when they don’t understand God’s plan. Jacob and his sons didn’t know what was going on. They knew that Benjamin needed to go to Egypt in order to get more food, and they knew that it would appear that they had stolen the previous round of food by not paying for it. They didn’t know what trouble they would face once they returned to Egypt, and Jacob feared that everything would be taken from him. He didn’t understand the plan that God had to save them.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was for Joseph to be in charge of distributing food in Egypt. After all the trouble that Joseph faced, God now has him exactly where he wants him—in a place where he can help his family, the land of Egypt, and all surrounding peoples through a famine.

God’s plan was to fulfill Joseph’s dreams. When Joseph was growing up, he had dreams that his brothers would bow down to him. Those dreams are fulfilled in this passage. The brothers didn’t know that they were bowing down to Joseph, but Joseph recognized the fulfillment of his dreams.

God’s plan was for Joseph to be reunited with his brothers. Although the brothers don’t know that they are with Joseph again, Joseph recognized them and received news about his family after many years of being separated from them. Although the true reunion doesn’t happen for another couple chapters, this is the first step for Joseph to be reunited with his family.

God’s plan was to provide for Jacob and his family through Joseph. God knew that the famine would come, so he worked in Joseph’s life over many years to put him in a place to provide for his family. Sometimes God’s plan didn’t make sense at the time, but eventually it did.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

When I read this story, I always wonder if maybe Joseph had that lightbulb moment when his brothers bowed down to him, thinking, “Ah. This is what God’s been doing.” Joseph had the advantage of a bit of foreknowledge from dreams. He knew that God had given him a dream that his brothers would bow down to him, and he knew that hadn’t been fulfilled yet. So he knew that God still had plans for him that he didn’t know about yet. That knowledge must have sustained him when he was sold into slavery and tossed in a dungeon. That knowledge surely caused him to continue to trust that God had a plan.

Jesus also had the advantage of foreknowledge. He knew God’s plan for his time on earth. He knew that he would be betrayed. He knew that he would be crucified. He knew the pain he would have to suffer. But he also knew that he would rise again, and that the pain was worth the victory that would come in the end. Through it all, this knowledge helped him to persevere to the very end.

We may not have the foreknowledge that Joseph and Jesus had about what God is planning to do with our lives. But we do trust in the same God, and we know that he always has a plan that he will bring to fulfillment. So whatever God is doing in your life right now that doesn’t make sense, know that someday, it will. You will look back and say, “Ah. That’s what God’s been doing. I’m glad I continued to trust him.”

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Genesis 43-44.

Subscribe now

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 42 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 42

131KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 42

130KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

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Opening

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: Do you remember a year that was wet and lush and green? What about a year that was super dry and brown?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 41:1-43.

41 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, ² when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. ³ After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. ⁴ And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

⁵ He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. ⁶ After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. ⁷ The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

⁸ In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. ¹⁰ Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. ¹¹ Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. ¹² Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. ¹³ And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.”

¹⁴ So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.

¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

¹⁶ “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, ¹⁸ when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. ¹⁹ After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰ The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. ²¹ But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

²² “In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. ²³ After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. ²⁴ The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. ²⁷ The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.

²⁸ “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁹ Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, ³⁰ but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. ³¹ The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. ³² The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

³³ “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. ³⁵ They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. ³⁶ This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”

³⁷ The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. ³⁸ So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”

³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

⁴¹ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

What is the context for this passage?

When we left Joseph in the previous lesson, he had been forgotten by the cupbearer. Joseph had interpreted dreams for the cupbearer and baker, and the dreams happened just as Joseph had said. Joseph asked the cupbearer to speak to Pharaoh and get him out of prison, but the cupbearer forgot him once he was restored to his position. So Joseph sat in prison and waited and trusted God.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 41 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God gives people dreams that have meaning. The life of Joseph has been filled with dreams. First, Joseph himself had dreams. Then the cupbearer and baker had dreams. Now, Pharaoh had dreams. God gave these dreams specifically to these people to give them warnings about the future.

God gives his selected people the ability to interpret dreams. Joseph had a record of following and trusting God, and God used him to interpret dreams for people. In this case, God used Joseph to not only interpret Pharaoh’s dreams but to save the land of Egypt from the effects of famine.

God sometimes reveals what will happen in the future. As the only one who clearly knows the future, God sometimes reveals that future to select people.

God is in charge of the weather and crops. The only reason that God could give dreams that predict the future about weather (famine) and crops (good years and lean years) is because God is in control of all of nature, including weather patterns and plant growth.

When God decides something, it will happen. Joseph told Pharaoh that he could be sure that his dreams would come true because God had already decided it would happen, and it would happen soon. When God decides something, there’s no going back. He will act on his decision.

God gives wisdom and discernment. Pharaoh recognized something different in Joseph—a wisdom and discernment that was unlike anything he had seen in others. Pharaoh recognized where this wisdom and discernment came from—God.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People have dreams that can sometimes be troubling. Just like the cupbearer and baker, Pharaoh’s dreams were troubling to him, and he wanted to know what they meant. Even dreams that don’t have a deeper meaning or that don’t predict the future can be troubling.

People do not have the ability to interpret dreams on their own. As much as they tried, the magicians and wise men of Egypt could not interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. They were missing one key requirement: God’s wisdom.

People can have memories triggered by certain events. When the cupbearer heard that Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret, he finally remembered Joseph. He knew that Joseph could interpret dreams, so he told Pharaoh.

People who are troubled look for any answer they can find. I don’t know if Pharaoh thought sending after Joseph was a long shot, but he was looking for any answer at this point after all his magicians and wise men had failed him. So he took the cupbearer’s suggestion and sent for Joseph to see if Joseph could interpret his dream.

People clean up their appearance before going before people in high authority. Joseph had been in prison for several years, so his appearance was likely pretty rough. Before he went before Pharaoh, he cleaned up his appearance, just like we would do if we were going before a judge or president or other person in high authority.

People who trust God are humble and give him the glory. Pharaoh tried to give Joseph the credit for interpreting dreams, but Joseph turned all of that praise to God. Joseph knew that it was not his ability that allowed him to interpret dreams. It was God’s power working through him.

People listen to wise counsel. When Pharaoh heard the interpretation of his dreams, Joseph gave him advice on what to do. Pharaoh recognized Joseph’s advice as being very wise, and he set plans in place to follow through on Joseph’s plan.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to give Joseph a place of honor with Pharaoh. Finally, God’s plan for Joseph’s life seems more evident. Joseph is no longer a slave or a prisoner. Instead, God has given him a place of honor on Pharaoh’s staff and in all the land of Egypt.

God’s plan was to give Joseph the responsibility to help save his people. Along with Joseph’s place of honor came responsibility. Joseph was put in charge of collecting all the land’s abundance in the years of plenty and distributing food in the years of famine.

God’s plan was to bring abundance and then famine in Egypt and beyond. Just as foretold by Pharaoh’s dreams, God planned to bring 7 years of abundance to Egypt and then 7 years of famine. But this plan wasn’t only for Egypt. All the land around Egypt also experienced this same pattern of abundance then famine.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

This week’s passage is where we start to see the fulfillment of God’s plan for Joseph’s life. Now, being sold into Egypt and ending up in prison start to make sense. These are the steps God used to get Joseph in front of Pharaoh so he could be put in charge for when the time of famine came. Joseph’s plan for storing up crops and then distributing crops is what would save the people in and around Egypt when the famine arrived.

But just saving people from famine is not the main point. The main point is that God used the famine to reunite Joseph with his family and bring them down to Egypt to live. Egypt is where the Israelites would grow to be a great nation—so great, in fact, that a later Pharaoh who didn’t know Joseph would enslave them because he was afraid of their power. Then, God would free his people and bring them out of Egypt into the Promised Land, just has he promised Abraham.

Why did God need the Israelites to be in Egypt? Because later, God would fulfill a prophecy by calling Jesus out of Egypt, in a parallel to calling the Israelites out of Egypt. Jesus and his family had fled to Egypt to escape the plan of Herod to kill all the boys under 2 years old in an effort to eliminate the “king of the Jews” who had been born. By fleeing to Egypt, Jesus’ family prevented his death so that he could continue on to his ministry and his ultimate purpose for coming to earth—to die on the cross for our sins.

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Genesis 41:44-57.

Subscribe now

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 41 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 41

130KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 41

128KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

Subscribe now

Opening

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: Have you ever gotten in trouble for something you didn’t do? What happened?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 40:1-23.

40 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, ³ and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. ⁴ The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.

After they had been in custody for some time, ⁵ each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

⁶ When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. ⁷ So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”

⁸ “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

⁹ So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, ¹⁰ and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. ¹¹ Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.”

¹² “This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. ¹³ Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. ¹⁵ I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. ¹⁷ In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸ “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.”

²⁰ Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: ²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand— ²² but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

²³ The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

What is the context for this passage?

Let’s quickly review where we are in Joseph’s story. Joseph is the 11th of 12 sons born to Jacob, but he is also the firstborn of Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife. This means that Jacob loved Joseph more than his other brothers, and Joseph’s brothers were jealous and hated Joseph. Out of their hatred, they sold Joseph into slavery and told their father that he was dead.

Through Midianite traders, Joseph made his way to Egypt, where he became a slave in the house of Potiphar, one of the Pharaoh’s officials. After some time, Potiphar’s wife noticed her attraction to Joseph and tried to seduce him. When Joseph refused, she made up a story that he had tried to seduce her. This made Potiphar angry, and he had Joseph thrown in prison.

Through all of this, God was with Joseph and blessed all the work he did. Potiphar noticed God’s presence with Joseph and put him in charge of all he owned, until his wife deceived him and he had Joseph thrown in prison. While in prison, the prison warden also noticed God’s presence with Joseph and put him in charge of all the prisoners. So this is where we find Joseph in today’s story—in prison, overseeing the prisoners.

One thing of context that I got from reading this week’s passage that I hadn’t ever paid attention to before—the prison where Joseph was being kept was in Potiphar’s house. Genesis 39:1 tells us that Potiphar was captain of the guard. Genesis 40:3 says that Joseph was confined in the prison that was in the house of the captain of the guard. Later, in Genesis 40:7, it tells us that the two officials were in custody with Joseph in his master’s house. His master is Potiphar. So even though Joseph was in prison, Potiphar seemingly still had contact with him, and indeed still favored him, as he allowed Joseph to be in charge of the other prisoners. I guess I always imagined Joseph in a dark dungeon-like prison that was far away from Potiphar and his wife. But that appears to not be the case.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 40 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God provides interpretations for dreams. Joseph was no stranger to dreams, and he knew that God is able to interpret dreams. God provided Joseph the wisdom to understand the dreams of the cupbearer and baker and to give them correct interpretations.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People are easily offended. Just as Joseph ended up in prison over Potiphar’s misplaced anger, the cupbearer and baker end up in prison because they angered Pharaoh. We don’t know what they did, or whether Pharaoh’s anger was justified. But we know that any instance of Pharaoh’s anger can spell trouble for those who offended him.

People must suffer the consequences of their actions. Whatever the cupbearer and baker did, they had to suffer the consequences of their actions. They were thrown in prison for angering Pharaoh. Eventually, the cupbearer was restored and the baker was killed.

People have dreams, and these dreams sometimes have significant meaning. Dreaming is fairly common when people are sleeping. Sometimes, these dreams are more than just weird mixtures of ideas in someone’s head. Just as Joseph’s dreams had meaning when he told them to his brothers in Genesis 37, the dreams of the cupbearer and baker had meaning. Joseph was able to interpret those dreams through God’s wisdom.

People can read body language to discern emotions of others. Body language is a major part of communicating emotions. Joseph was observant and saw that the cupbearer and baker were dejected the morning after they had their dreams.

People can show care and compassion for others. When Joseph noticed that the cupbearer and baker were troubled about something, he showed care for them by asking why they were so sad. Then, when they shared with him, Joseph helped them understand their dreams.

People ask others to return favors that they have done. Joseph did a favor for the cupbearer and baker by interpreting their dreams. He asked for a favor in return—to mention Joseph to Pharaoh to get him out of prison.

People celebrate birthdays. The fulfillment of the cupbearer’s and baker’s dreams hinged on a special event—Pharaoh’s birthday. Even back in Bible times, people celebrated their birthdays.

People tend to forget their promises. As soon as the cupbearer was restored to his position, he promptly forgot about mentioning Joseph to Pharaoh. We all have a tendency to forget our promises, especially if it doesn’t seem to benefit us at all.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to plant seeds that would eventually gain Joseph the attention of Pharaoh. Once again, God is paving the way to get Joseph where he wants him—with Pharaoh. God doesn’t lay the path all at once. He uses a series of events to achieve his plan. In this passage, God ties the connection between Joseph and the cupbearer, who is with the Pharaoh every day, and gives the cupbearer a reason to remember Joseph when the time is right.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

In this week’s passage, we see that when God works in our lives, he may only give us one tiny step forward before we have a period of waiting again. In Joseph’s life, his first step on his path to Pharaoh was being sold into slavery. Once he was sold to Potiphar, there was a period of waiting before the next step—being thrown in prison. Once he was in prison, there was a period of waiting until he came in contact with the cupbearer and baker. Once they were in prison, there was a period of waiting until they had their dreams and Joseph interpreted them. Once the cupbearer was restored, there was another period of waiting because the cupbearer forgot about Joseph and didn’t mention him to Pharaoh. God only allows forward steps to happen in his timing, and often, that timing doesn’t make sense to us.

We see this also in Jesus’ life. There were many times when Jesus didn’t act the way his disciples or the crowds wanted him to act because “my time has not yet come” (see John 2:1-11, John 7:6-8). Only when the time as right did Jesus act. Only in John 17, at the cusp of his betrayal and crucifixion, did Jesus say, “the hour has come.” Each step that Jesus took was a deliberate act to get him to the cross, but there were also times when Jesus said, no, now is a time of waiting. He didn’t start doing miracles when he was a kid (at least that we know). He didn’t go out and try to persuade the crowds to rise up and make him king (at least, not an earthly king). He often told people he healed to not tell anyone (see Matthew 9:27-31). He knew that each step of his life needed to be in God’s timing, and he knew when the time was not yet right—and he knew when it was right.

In our lives, we can trust that God knows the right timing for each step that will get us to the destination he wants for us. If it feels like you are in a period of waiting, trust that God has given you that time to learn to trust in him. Along the way, take every opportunity presented to you to be kind and compassionate to others. You never know which connection will make the difference.

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

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What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Daniel 2.

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For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

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Opening

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: What was a time in your life when you experienced peer pressure? Did you stand up against it? Or did you give in?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 39:1-23.

39 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

² The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. ³ When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, ⁴ Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. ⁵ From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. ⁶ So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, ⁷ and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

⁸ But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. ⁹ No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” ¹⁰ And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

¹¹ One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. ¹² She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

¹³ When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, ¹⁴ she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. ¹⁵ When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

¹⁶ She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. ¹⁸ But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

¹⁹ When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. ²⁰ Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, ²¹ the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. ²² So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. ²³ The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

What is the context for this passage?

The story of Joseph starts in Genesis 37, where we see the animosity between Joseph and his brothers. Joseph gives bad reports about his brothers to their father, and he tells his brothers his dreams about them bowing down to him. This doesn’t sit well with the brothers, so they plan to kill him. Instead of following through on this, they decide to sell him into slavery so they can get a little money out of the deal. Then they take Joseph’s ornate, unique robe, spread blood on it from an animal, and report to their father that Joseph is dead.

In the meantime, Joseph is sold to a caravan of Midianite merchants headed to Egypt. There, he is sold to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 39 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God was with Joseph. This passage says several times that God was with Joseph. Joseph may have felt abandoned when his brothers sold him into slavery, but God never left him. Joseph may have been far away from home and everything he knew, but the God he followed stayed with him no matter where he went.

God blesses people through the work of his followers. Just as God was with Joseph, God blessed everything that Joseph did. Much of this blessing didn’t help Joseph accumulate wealth for himself, but it did bless those around him. Potiphar’s household was blessed through Joseph’s work, and the warden in the jail was blessed as well.

God can be sinned against. Joseph recognized that to sleep with Potiphar’s wife would be a sin against God. God is holy and cannot tolerate sin. Any sin that we commit is a sin directly against God because of his holiness and righteousness.

God is kind. When Joseph was thrown in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, he could have found himself in some very bad circumstances. Instead, God showed his kindness to Joseph by granting him favor in the eyes of the warden. It seems that Joseph wasn’t treated much like a prisoner even though he was. This is God’s kindness at work.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People recognize God’s work in someone’s life. Both Potiphar and the prison warden saw something different about Joseph. They recognized that God was with Joseph and was blessing him.

People trust those who are blessed by God. Because Potiphar and the prison warden recognized the blessing on Joseph’s life, and because Joseph proved to be faithful and honorable, they trusted him.

People give responsibility to those who are trustworthy. Both Potiphar and the prison warden saw that Joseph was blessed, and he was trustworthy. Because of this, they gave him responsibility to care for their possessions, their household, and their work. Potiphar put Joseph in charge of everything he owned, and the prison warden put Joseph in charge of the prisoners…even though Joseph was a prisoner himself.

Some people are unconcerned with marital faithfulness. Unlike Joseph, Potiphar’s wife was not faithful or trustworthy. She noticed Joseph’s attractiveness, and after a time, she could no longer control her desire to have sex with him. It didn’t matter that she was married to Potiphar. She was only concerned with her own desires.

People can either be trustworthy and upright or deceitful. Joseph and Potiphar’s wife are two opposites. Where Joseph was trustworthy and upright, Potiphar’s wife was deceitful and selfish. When Joseph refused to give in to her attention, Potiphar made up a story to get Joseph thrown into prison.

Wise people flee from temptation to sin. Joseph understood the importance of marital faithfulness, and he knew that sleeping with Potiphar’s wife would be sinful. So he fled from the temptation. He was more concerned with being obedient to God than giving in to any temptation.

People react harshly when they have been wronged. When Potiphar’s wife felt snubbed by Joseph, she made up a lie to get him in trouble. When Potiphar heard the lie and believed it, he immediately became angry at Joseph and had him thrown into prison. When you feel you have been wronged, take a moment to understand all sides of the story.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to make Joseph successful in all he did. No matter where Joseph went, God granted him success. Everything Joseph was put in charge of in Potiphar’s house prospered, including both the household and the fields. The same happened when Joseph was in prison. Joseph found success in working for the prison warden, which I’m sure made his time in prison a bit easier.

God’s plan was to make people look on Joseph with favor. Whether Joseph was in Potiphar’s house or in jail, Joseph’s trustworthiness and God’s blessing on his life made people look on Joseph with favor. Because of this, they gave him more and more responsibility, and everything he did was blessed by God.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

God had a plan for Joseph, and that plan didn’t end with Joseph staying in Potiphar’s house. Getting sent to prison was one step of many that God used to guide Joseph to a place in Pharaoh’s house. Once he was in Pharaoh’s house, God used Joseph to save his family and the whole land of Egypt from a famine. Each step along the way may not have made sense to Joseph, but he kept being faithful no matter what his circumstances were.

Think about Jesus in the last hours of his life. From the outside looking in, Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, torture, and crucifixion don’t make any sense. But looking back from the perspective of the resurrection, and knowing Jesus’ purpose on earth was to pay the penalty for our sin by becoming the perfect sacrifice, all of those steps make perfect sense. No matter what the circumstances, Jesus was faithful to his calling to be obedient.

Next time you have circumstances in life that just don’t make sense, remember Joseph and Jesus. Sometimes the steps to where you need to be in life don’t make sense to you. But you can trust that God is working in your life to get you to where he wants you to be. You just need to trust him and stay faithful to him no matter what your circumstances are. Someday, you will understand.

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read 1 Corinthians 6:9-20.

Subscribe now

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 39 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 39

133KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 39

131KB ∙ PDF file

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Download

*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

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Opening

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: What was a time in your life when you had to leave what happened in God’s hands?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 37:12-36.

¹² Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, ¹³ and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.”

“Very well,” he replied.

¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶ He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

¹⁷ “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

¹⁹ “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. ²⁰ “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

²¹ When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. ²² “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.

²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵ As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.

²⁶ Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? ²⁷ Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

²⁸ So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. ³⁰ He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”

³¹ Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. ³² They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

³³ He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”

³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.

³⁶ Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.

What is the context for this passage?

In last week’s lesson, we transitioned from the story of Jacob to the story of Joseph. Joseph was the firstborn of Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel, and Jacob loved Joseph more than his other sons. This caused animosity and jealousy among the brothers. Joseph brought bad reports about his brothers to his dad, and the brothers hated Joseph and treated him poorly. After a couple dreams that implied that Joseph’s brothers would bow down to him, Joseph’s brothers hated him all the more. That hatred sparked the events in this week’s passage.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 37 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God is always working things out for his own purposes. Sometimes in our darkest days, we can’t see what God is doing. I’m sure Joseph felt some fear and wondered what God was doing as he was first thrown into a cistern and then sold into slavery. But God had a purpose in all of it. And God’s purpose will always win.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

Joseph’s brothers were shepherds, but he was not. In line with being the favored son, Joseph was not given the task of being a shepherd. In Bible times, shepherds were often seen with disdain. It was a lowly and hard job. It seems fitting that this task was reserved for the non-favored sons.

Jacob used Joseph as a messenger to check on his brothers. Shepherds often wandered the countryside with their sheep in search of green pastures and water. They could be away from home for long stretches of time. So Jacob used Joseph as a messenger to go check on his brothers every once in a while.

Sometimes people have to stop and ask for directions. We’ve all been there on this one! Joseph set out to search for his brothers, and they were not where he had been told they would be. So he asked a man he encountered if he knew where they were. Fortunately, the man sent him in the right direction.

Hatred can make people want to do evil things. When his brothers saw Joseph coming, they started devising a plan to get rid of him. They wanted to kill him. Although they ended up not following this plan, they did sell him into slavery. Their hatred of Joseph was deep.

Not all the brothers wanted Joseph dead. Although most of the brothers wanted Joseph dead and out of their life, two brothers stood up for him. Reuben (the oldest) convinced the brothers to not kill Joseph but to instead throw him into a cistern, planning to later come and rescue him. Judah (Leah’s fourth son, and the son through whom Jesus would come) also came up with an alternative to killing Joseph—selling him into slavery.

People often make decisions for their own gain. Although Judah’s suggestion to sell Joseph into slavery might have been due to some compassion for his “own flesh and blood,” greed was a primary motivator. He said, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?” Judah wanted to get something out of the deal.

People panic when the unexpected happens. I don’t know where Reuben was while the rest of the brothers were selling Joseph to the Midianites. Seems like a caravan of merchants and the process of pulling Joseph out of the cistern and selling him would have been a bit obvious. But somehow, Reuben missed all of that, and when he came to find Joseph no longer in the cistern, he panicked a bit.

People use deceit to cover up their poor choices. Once his brothers had done their evil deed of selling Joseph, they came up with a plan to cover up what they had done. They slaughtered a goat and covered his ornate robe in it to make it look like Joseph had been attacked by an animal and killed. This would absolve them of any responsibility for Joseph’s death in their father’s eyes. Then they took that story back to their father.

People mourn the death of those they love. When Jacob was told that his beloved son was dead, he mourned for many days and refused to be comforted.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to get Joseph to Egypt. Although Joseph may have planned a different series of events for himself, God used Joseph’s brothers’ jealousy to get Joseph to Egypt where God would later use him in a mighty way. God needed Joseph in Egypt, and he set up the circumstances to get him there.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

God had a plan for Joseph in Egypt. Although it was hard to see God’s plan in the early years that Joseph was in Egypt, God’s plan became clear later in Joseph’s life. Joseph eventually rose to have great authority in Egypt, and he saved Egypt from famine through his wise planning. This plan also saved his own family, who came to Egypt for food during the famine. Although being sent to Egypt seemed like the result of evil on the part of his brothers, God used it to fulfill his divine plan. It’s humbling to know that God can use people in spite of our own selfishness and sin.

In the same way, even though Jesus’ death on the cross seemed like the result of the evil plan of the religious leaders, God used it to fulfill his plan for Jesus to pay the penalty for sin for all people and to conquer death and Satan. Although what happened in Joseph’s life was outside of his control, what happened to Jesus was all within his control. If he had wanted, Jesus could have stopped his torture and crucifixion at any time. But he chose to go to the cross for us. He chose to endure the torture and humiliation and shame so that we wouldn’t have to. That is the glory of the gospel story.

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Acts 7:9-16.

Subscribe now

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 37 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 37 2

132KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 37 2

130KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

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Opening

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: What is your most recurring dream?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 37:1-11.

37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.

² This is the account of Jacob’s family line.

Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. ⁴ When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

⁵ Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. ⁶ He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷ We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

⁸ His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

⁹ Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

¹⁰ When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” ¹¹ His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

What is the context for this passage?

Our last Bible Essentials study was in Genesis 35, where we saw Jacob return to the land of Canaan with his family. God renewed his covenant with Jacob and Jacob’s descendants, and God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. This is where we get the name the Israelites from.

We also get some bittersweet news in Genesis 35. Rachel has become pregnant with another child, but she dies in childbirth. This is the final son of Jacob—Benjamin. Benjamin is the only full brother of Joseph, who will be the focus for the rest of Genesis. Benjamin will play a key role later in Genesis.  In addition to Rachel’s death, we also learn of the death of Isaac at 180 years old.

After a chapter reporting the lineage of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother, Genesis transitions a bit starting in Genesis 37. The rest of Genesis will tell us the story of Joseph.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 37 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God knows the future. As the story of Joseph unfolds in the rest of Genesis, we see that God does indeed know what will happen in the future. He knew that Joseph’s brothers would bow down to him, and he communicated that to Joseph in dreams.

God can speak to people through dreams. In God’s knowledge of the future, he spoke to Joseph in dreams to reveal to him what the future would be. His family would bow down to him. Not all dreams mean something significant, but sometimes God speaks to people in dreams, and they do have significant meaning.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People often continue to live in the same place as their parents. When Jacob settled down to raise his family, he settled in the same place his father, Isaac, had lived. This is the land that God had promised to give them through the covenant.

Siblings often foster bad feelings and jealousy among themselves. The relationship between Joseph and his brothers was not good. Joseph brought their father a bad report about the brothers (although the story never tells us if the report was true or what the brothers were doing to deserve a bad report). In turn, Joseph’s brothers were jealous because they knew their father loved Joseph more, and they despised him because of his dreams. All around, their relationship was not healthy.

Parents sometimes favor one sibling over another. Jacob loved Joseph more than any of the other brothers. Joseph was the first-born of Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel, and he was also born when Jacob was older. For these reasons, Jacob favored Joseph over the sons of his other wives.

People shower those they love with gifts. Because Jacob loved Joseph so much, he gave Joseph a special gift—an ornate robe, often called the “coat of many colors.” This robe was a symbol of Jacob’s love for Joseph, and it was one thing that drove the jealousy in Joseph’s brothers.

Joseph shared his dreams with his brothers. The story doesn’t tell us the motivation behind Joseph telling his brothers about his dreams, but whatever the motivation was, it also drove the jealousy in Joseph’s brothers. With each new thing we learn, the brothers’ hatred and jealousy just go deeper and deeper.

Joseph’s brothers seemed to understand the meaning of Joseph’s dreams. Although neither Joseph nor his brothers appear to seek God for the meaning behind Joseph’s dreams, the brothers seem to instinctively know what Joseph is trying to tell them—one day, Joseph will have authority and his brothers will bow down to him. The brothers came to hate Joseph and his dreams.  

People can respond differently to the same information. Joseph told his dreams to both his father and his brothers, but the two responded differently to the same information. The brothers responded with hatred and jealousy. But his father “kept the matter in mind.” Where the brothers dismissed Joseph and his dreams, Jacob seemed to ponder what they could someday mean for Joseph’s future.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to place Joseph in a position of authority over his family. Joseph’s dreams revealed that God would place Joseph in a position of authority over his family. This is the only reason his family would bow down to him. God used this position of authority to save the nation of Israel from a famine, as we will see later in Genesis.

God’s plan was that Joseph’s family would bow down to him. The dreams that God gave to Joseph did indeed come true. Joseph’s family did bow down to him when they came to purchase grain during a famine. Of course, his brothers didn’t know they were bowing down to Joseph at the time, but their actions did fulfill the prophecy of Joseph’s dreams.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

As the first major story about Joseph, this story sets into motion the rest of what happens in Genesis. It establishes the role of Joseph in his family as the one who was favored (by his father) and the one who was hated (by his brothers). This contrast caused the brothers to sell Joseph to merchants, and he eventually ended up in Egypt, where he rose to a place of power. That power later saved his family when they came to purchase grain during a famine.

When Joseph was reunited with his family, he convinced the entire family, including his father, to move to Egypt. While in Egypt, the Israelites grew into a great nation—so great, in fact, that eventually Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, would make them slaves because he feared they would become too powerful. Because of their slavery, we also see God deliver the nation of Israel from slavery and call them out of Egypt back to the Promised Land.

God’s care for Joseph and his family and God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery reflect God’s care for us and his willingness to send his favored Son to provide a way of deliverance for his people. Jesus was also called out of Egypt, just like the Israelites, and he lived a perfect life so that he could save us from our slavery to sin through his death on the cross.

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Genesis 42:1-9, Genesis 43:24-28.

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Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 37 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 37 1

131KB ∙ PDF file

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Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 37 1

130KB ∙ PDF file

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*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: Have you every clearly experienced God speaking to you or directing you? If so, what did he say, and what was the outcome?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 35:1-20.

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”

² So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. ³ Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. ⁵ Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.

⁶ Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. ⁷ There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.

⁸ Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak outside Bethel. So it was named Allon Bakuth.

⁹ After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. ¹⁰ God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel.

¹¹ And God said to him, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. ¹² The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” ¹³ Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.

¹⁴ Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. ¹⁵ Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.

¹⁶ Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. ¹⁷ And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.” ¹⁸ As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.

¹⁹ So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰ Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.

What is the context for this passage?

A lot has happened since we last saw Jacob and his family in Genesis 30. After Jacob built up his flock, Laban’s sons began to be jealous. They felt that Jacob had taken all of their wealth for himself. Laban had changed Jacob’s wages multiple times, and no matter what the wages were, Jacob always got the better end of the deal. So the Lord told Jacob to go back to the land of his fathers. His wives agreed, and they set off without telling Laban.

Once Laban finds out, he pursues them, accusing Jacob of leaving without letting him say goodbye as well as stealing his idols. Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols, so he let Laban search for them. Rachel hid them, and Laban never found them. Laban and Jacob made a covenant to not harm each other, and Laban returned home.

Now Jacob has another obstacle—his brother Esau. They didn’t leave on good terms, and Jacob is afraid that Esau will kill him as soon as they see each other. To try to prevent this, Jacob sends messengers ahead of him along with a gift. When Jacob hears that Esau is coming to meet him along with 400 men, Jacob prepares to be attacked and calls out to God to protect him. One night, Jacob wrestled with God, and God changed his name to Israel.

When the time finally came for Jacob to meet Esau, Jacob found something quite unexpected. Esau welcomed him with open arms! Once Jacob and Esau’s relationship was restored, Jacob bought some land and settled there. Jacob’s daughter Dinah ended up being raped by Shechem, one of the men that lived nearby. Dinah’s brothers were furious, so when Shechem approached them and asked to marry Dinah, the brothers “agreed.” They said they would give Dinah to Shechem to marry only if all the men were circumcised. Amazingly, all the men agreed. While they were still in pain from the procedure, Jacob’s sons attacked them, killed them, and looted all their wealth. Because of this, Jacob was afraid that others would attack him, so he set out to move his family again.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 35 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God speaks to his people. Two different times in this story, God speaks to Jacob. The first time, God tells him where to settle and worship. The second time, God changes Jacob’s name and confirms his covenant with Jacob. Although God doesn’t speak to people in quite the same way he did in the Old Testament, he will still speak to us if we listen.

God directs his people. When God spoke with Jacob, he told Jacob exactly where he should settle and build an altar. Throughout the Bible, God directs his people to know where they should go and what they should do.

God helps people who are in distress. When Jacob was speaking to the members of his household, he said that God answered him in the day of his distress. If we call out to God when we are in distress, he will hear us. How he decides to help may look different than what we expect, but he will hear us and help us in the way that follows his plan.

God dwells with his people. Jacob recognized that God had been with him wherever he went. Whether he was at home with his father or in a foreign land with Laban’s family or on the road to meet Esau, God went with Jacob. God does the same for his people today. He dwells with his people through the Holy Spirit.

God reveals himself to his people. Back in Genesis 28, when Jacob was fleeing from his brother, Jacob had a dream where God revealed himself to Jacob. Now, many years later, Jacob remembers that interaction and built an altar to worship God. When God reveals himself to us, we need to pay attention and use that as a reminder to worship God.

God blesses his people. This seems to be a common theme in the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As God has done with each generation, God blessed Jacob, changed his name, and reminded Jacob of his promise.

God is the Almighty one. When God identified himself, he described himself as God Almighty. He is the one who has all the power to do whatever he wants, including fulfilling his promise to bless Jacob, growing him into a nation, and giving him the land he promised to Abraham and Isaac.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

When someone worships the One True God, there is no room for other gods. Over the years, foreign gods had seeped into Jacob’s household. When Jacob decided to fully commit his household to worshiping God, he made everyone get rid of all of their other gods. And they did.

People who plan to worship God want to be pure. Jacob planned for him and his household to worship God. Before they did, they all purified themselves. When we worship before a holy God, we should make the effort to purify our hearts so we can truly worship.

People follow strong leadership. Jacob was a strong leader in this story. When he gave instructions to his household, they followed his direction. If Jacob had been a weak leader, they likely would not have been willing to give up their foreign gods and worship Jacob’s God.

People who don’t follow God feel terror when they see evidence of his presence. Although Jacob and his family followed God, the people around them didn’t. After the altercation Jacob’s sons had with Shechem and the other men of the area, the surrounding people felt terror because of the God that Jacob served.

Sometimes women have trouble during childbirth and die. Although childbirth is often a happy occasion, it doesn’t always end well. Like Rachel, some women have trouble during childbirth and die. Sometimes the baby also dies, but in this case, he didn’t. Jacob had one last son from Rachel: Benjamin.

People bury those who have died and mourn for them. After Rachel died, Jacob buried her and set up a pillar to mark her tomb. As his beloved wife, Jacob and his family mourned their loss.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to keep Jacob and his family safe. When Jacob’s sons riled up the people living around them, God still protected them. As the family packed up to leave the area, God put terror in the people’s hearts so that they would not pursue or attack Jacob and his family.

God’s plan was to change Jacob’s name to Israel. When God blessed Jacob, he changed his name from Jacob to Israel. This is where we get the name Israelites. Israel means “he struggles with God,” a reference back to Genesis 32 when Jacob wrestled with a man—who turned out to be God.

God’s plan was to make Jacob into a great nation—a nation of kings. When God confirmed his promise with Jacob, he again promises to make Jacob into a great nation. Not only will he become a great nation, but he will be a community of nations, and those nations will be ruled by kings. We see this fulfilled throughout the Old Testament.

God’s plan was to give Jacob and his descendants the land promised to Abraham and Isaac. God also confirmed his promise to give Jacob a land to call his own. That land was promised to Jacob as well as his descendants. Not only would God bless Jacob, but his descendants would carry on that blessing that comes with God’s presence.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

When God confirms his promise to Jacob, he promises three things: God will make him into a nation, kings will be among Jacob’s descendants, and God will give the land to Jacob’s descendants. Throughout the rest of Genesis and into Exodus, we see that God fulfills the first part of this promise. Jacob’s descendants became numerous and grew into a large nation. The nation was so large that they split it into a community of nations—the 12 tribes of Israel.

Then primarily in Joshua and Judges, we see God fulfill the third part of the promise. After God leads the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, he leads them to the Promised Land, this land that he declared would belong to Jacob’s descendants. Joshua leads the Israelites to conquer the people in the land so that they can take possession of it as their own.

Later in the books of Samuel and Kings and beyond, we see God fulfill the second part of the promise. God sets up kings to rule over the Israelites, including Saul, David, Solomon, and many more. Some of these kings were good and led the people to follow God. Others were bad and led the people away from God and to foreign idols. But through it all, God brings one final King—Jesus. Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords, and he rules over all creation for all eternity.

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Joshua 1, Joshua 23.

Subscribe now

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 35 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 35

139KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 35

136KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: Have you ever manipulated a situation to make sure you had success and others didn’t? If so, describe the situation.

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 30:25-43.

²⁵ After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. ²⁶ Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”

²⁷ But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” ²⁸ He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”

²⁹ Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. ³⁰ The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?”

³¹ “What shall I give you?” he asked.

“Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied. “But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: ³² Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. ³³ And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.”

³⁴ “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.” ³⁵ That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. ³⁶ Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks.

³⁷ Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. ³⁸ Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, ³⁹ they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. ⁴⁰ Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. ⁴¹ Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, ⁴² but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. ⁴³ In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

What is the context for this passage?

At the start of this story, Jacob had worked for Laban a minimum of 14 years, maybe more. He had worked 7 years and got tricked into marrying Leah, then he worked another 7 years for Rachel. We don’t really know if he worked additional time after that without any wages. While Jacob was working for Laban, Jacob and his wives had at least 12 children (11 boys and 1 girl). Finally, once Rachel had a son, Jacob started to think about accumulating wealth for himself and his family. 

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 30 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God blessed Laban because of Jacob. When God gave his original promise to Abraham, he promised blessing. That blessing was passed on to Isaac and then to Jacob. Laban came to understand that the reason that his flocks and his household had been blessed was because of Jacob.

God gave Jacob wisdom in genetics and animal husbandry. Although genetics wasn’t a known science at this point in history, God gave Jacob wisdom to know how to breed the flocks so that they would have speckled or spotted young. Using the branches in the watering troughs may have given the sheep and goats extra nutrition to become stronger or may have helped in the breeding process in some way. You can find a good article explaining this here . Although this seems like a strange tactic, God uses it to help Jacob build his flock quickly.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People have a connection to home. Once Jacob accumulated wives and children and had paid off his debt to Laban for his wives, he decided he wanted to go back home. That homeland would have had great significance for Jacob because that was the land God had promised to give them as a nation.

People want what is best for them and their family. In this story, Jacob wants what is best for his family. He thinks it is best for them to leave Laban and go back to their homeland. But that conflicts with what is best for Laban’s family. Laban knew that he had been blessed through Jacob, and if Jacob left, he may have feared that blessing would be gone. He also didn’t want to lose his daughters and grandchildren. Laban and Jacob worked out a solution that was mutually beneficial. Laban got Jacob to stay, while Jacob found a way to build wealth for his family.

Employers pay wages to their employees. Jacob had been working for Laban for many years, and for at least 14 years, his wages were his two wives. Now that he has paid that price, Laban and Jacob need to work out another deal for wages. Interestingly, Jacob doesn’t want cash. He goes after Laban’s flocks instead.

People manipulate situations to get what they want. When Laban and Jacob worked out their deal for wages, Laban thought he may have gotten the better end of the deal, as the spotted and speckled sheep were more rare. But with Jacob’s breeding process, he manipulated the breeding to ensure that he got the stronger, better animals. In this way, Jacob became very wealthy.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to make Jacob prosper and become wealthy. All throughout the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God promised blessing. That promise comes to fruition here as Jacob builds for himself large flocks. Whether it was through his breeding practices or simply due to God’s blessing (or both), Jacob becomes very wealthy.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

Time after time, we are reminded that God keeps his promises, even when people are imperfect. Abraham and Sarah made mistakes, and yet God still kept his promise and used them to bring about the first step in God’s plan to bring Jesus into the world. Isaac and Rebekah made mistakes, and God still kept his promise and used them in the second step of his plan. And in this passage, Jacob uses some manipulation to build wealth for himself, but God still kept his promise and used Jacob to start building a nation.

Throughout the Bible, we see that God uses imperfect people. He used Moses, even though Moses murdered someone. He used Rahab, even though she was a prostitute. He used David, even though he slept with another man’s wife and then had him killed. It’s a comfort to know that despite all our messes, despite all our imperfections, God can still use us to work out his plan.

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Genesis 31:1-21.

Subscribe now

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 30 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 30

131KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 30

130KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: Do you have kids? If so, tell the group a little about them.

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 29:31-30:24.

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.”

³³ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.

³⁴ Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.

³⁵ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.

30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

² Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”

³ Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”

⁴ So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, ⁵ and she became pregnant and bore him a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Because of this she named him Dan.

⁷ Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.

¹² Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. ¹³ Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

¹⁴ During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵ But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?”

“Very well,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶ So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.

¹⁷ God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.

¹⁹ Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. ²⁰ Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.

²¹ Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

²² Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. ²³ She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” ²⁴ She named him Joseph, and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.”

What is the context for this passage?

This passage continues the story of Jacob, the final patriarch in the line of Abraham. After angering his brother Esau by stealing his birthright and his blessing, Jacob leaves home and travels to his mother’s family for safety. Rebekah’s brother Laban takes him in, and Jacob falls in love with Laban’s daughter Rachel. In wage negotiations, Jacob and Laban agree that Jacob will work seven years in exchange for Rachel as his wife.

Everything goes as expected—until the wedding night. Jacob works for seven years, the wedding arrives, he gets married—and to his surprise, he discovers Leah has been married to him instead of Rachel. Laban defends himself by saying that their custom is for the oldest daughter to marry first. So they negotiate another seven years of work for Rachel. Jacob worked seven years to marry one sister, waited a week, married the other sister as well, and then worked another seven years for her. Within the span of a week, Jacob gains not only two wives but their two attendants as well. Through all of this, Jacob loves Rachel more than Leah, and everyone knows it. And what happens after marriage? Children.

One more note for those who read the story and wonder about the significance of mandrakes. A mandrake is a flowering plant in the nightshade family that has large, forked roots that sometimes resemble a human face and body. They were believed to be an aphrodisiac and were commonly eaten to promote fertility. Mandrakes are mentioned one other time in the Bible in Song of Solomon 7:13. I’m not sure how well they work, since in this story Leah has at least three more children before Rachel has her first son.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 29 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God sees and hears his people. Throughout this passage, we see several places where Leah and Rachel refer to God hearing or seeing them. First, God saw that Leah was not loved, so he gave her children. Then, when Leah had Reuben, she said, “the Lord has seen my misery.” When she has Simeon, she said, “The Lord heard that I am not loved.” When Bilhah had Dan, Rachel said, “[God] has listened to my plea.” Throughout the entire story, God pays attention to and responds to his people.

God has control over childbearing. This story starts out with a fundamental truth: God is the one who controls childbearing. God enabled Leah to conceive but not Rachel. With almost every child, Leah and Rachel give credit to God for their son. They know that the blessing of a child is a blessing from God. Finally, God enables Rachel to conceive as well.

God created people to have children. Both biologically and emotionally, God created people to have children. God created people to have the right anatomy for a man and a woman to create a new life, a child. In this way, God created a way for humanity to continue. However, it’s not just our anatomy that supports having children. God also created people to emotionally desire having and raising children.

God remembers those who have been faithful to him. Rachel went many years without bearing a child, watching painfully as her sister and two of their servants bore Jacob 10 sons. But God did not forget Rachel. Finally, God remembered Rachel and gave her a son.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People long to be loved. Something that comes out over and over again in this passage is the desire of each of these wives to be loved by their husband. Leah said several times that maybe now her husband would love her because she bore him sons. Rachel knew she was loved, but she felt disgrace because she didn’t have children. Wanting to be loved is a natural human response.

Sometimes people don’t love others the way they should. Based on Leah’s continued focus on gaining Jacob’s love, it seems that Jacob didn’t love Leah, at least not how she wanted to be loved, and it was obvious. Yes, Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah, but every person still deserves to be loved.

People often tend to be focused on themselves. Almost every time Leah and Rachel had sons (either themselves or through a servant), they were focused on their own needs and desires. Leah frequently commented about gaining her husband’s love, and Rachel just wanted to win her struggle with her sister for their husband’s affection.

People who are blessed by God worship him. After Leah had her fourth son, she finally placed her focus on God rather than on her husband. Of the 6 children Leah bore herself and the 2 borne through her servant, Judah is the only one where Leah’s entire focus was on praising God. Interestingly, Judah’s line is the one through whom Jesus would come.

People become jealous when others have what they do not. Jealousy is everywhere throughout this story. Leah is jealous of Rachel because Jacob loves Rachel and not her. Rachel is jealous of Leah because Leah has borne children and Rachel hasn’t. Jealousy and trying to gain what they do not have drives every decision in this story, including the decision of both women to give their servants to Jacob to bear more children.

People become angry when people want them to control something they cannot control. Although Jacob loves Rachel more than Leah, he becomes angry with Rachel when she accuses him of not giving her children. Jacob knows this is beyond his control, so he gets angry with Rachel because he can do nothing to change her ability to get pregnant.

When people don’t get what they want, they try to take things into their own hands. Rachel wasn’t able to have children, so instead of being satisfied with what God had provided for her, she decided to take things into her own hands by giving Jacob her servant Bilhah to sleep with and bear her a son. This is so reminiscent of Sarah, who gave Hagar to Abraham when Sarah was not able to bear Abraham a son. Later in the story, Leah does the same thing when she realizes she has stopped having children.

Some people feel that not being able to have children is a disgrace. Based on her response when she finally gave birth to Joseph, Rachel felt that not being able to have children was a disgrace. Indeed, people of that time felt that not being able to have children was a curse from God. By finally having a son, Rachel felt that her disgrace was removed.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to give Leah love and favor through bearing children. God knew that Jacob did not love Leah, so he built favor for her through giving her children and withholding children from Rachel. Of Jacob’s 12 children, Leah bore half of them, and 2 more were borne through her servant.

God’s plan was to make Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob into a great nation. After generations of struggling to have children, God finally has a patriarch that has many children. Although we only see 11 children in this story, Jacob eventually has 12 sons, which become the 12 tribes of Israel.

God’s plan was for Rachel to have Jacob’s youngest sons. After much patience and distress and jealousy, Rachel finally had a son with Jacob. Later, she has another son. These two sons are key to the future of the national of Israel. If Rachel would have had many sons, or if she would not have had trouble bearing children, these sons may not have had quite the same impact on the story as they did due to the wait their parents had to endure before they were born.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

Back in Genesis 12, God promised Abraham that he would make Abraham into a great nation. Abraham waited 25 years for God to give him the promised son through whom he would become a great nation. Abraham’s son Isaac then waited 20 years after his marriage to Rebekah before God gave them twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob becomes the final member of the three patriarchs, and God’s promise to build Abraham into a nation finally seems like it might become a reality. With 12 sons, Jacob has a good start on building a massive family tree.

We see throughout the rest of the Old Testament that Jacob’s 12 sons do indeed become a great nation, the nation of Israel. In fact, they become so numerous that the Egyptians were afraid of them and placed them into slavery. Despite the efforts of the Egyptians to slow the growth of the Israelite population, the Israelites numbered 600,000 men plus women and children when they are finally freed from slavery and escape from Egypt (Exodus 12:37). God had fulfilled his promise.

Making Abraham into a great nation was only part of God’s promise. God also promised that the whole world would be blessed through Abraham. What was this blessing? This blessing was Jesus, the Messiah, God himself come to earth to pay the penalty for our sins and bring salvation to all who believe. I find it interesting that Jesus came through the line of Judah. Judah was Leah’s child, not the beloved Rachel’s. Also, Judah was the first son that Leah had that she didn’t try to use to manipulate Jacob into loving her. Instead, she simply praised God for his birth. This was the son through whom Jesus would come.

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Matthew 1:1-17.

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Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 29-30 Resources

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Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 29 2

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*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: What is the one thing in your life you have had to work hardest for?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 29:14-30.

After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, ¹⁵ Laban said to him, “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”

¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. ¹⁸ Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”

¹⁹ Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her.”

²² So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. ²³ But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her. ²⁴ And Laban gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter as her attendant.

²⁵ When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”

²⁶ Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. ²⁷ Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”

²⁸ And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ²⁹ Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. ³⁰ Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.

What is the context for this passage?

The last time we saw Jacob and Esau, Jacob had just stolen Esau’s blessing by disguising himself as Esau. This caused Esau to hate Jacob, and Esau consoled himself by promising to kill Jacob. Rebekah overheard this and told Jacob, sending him away to her brother Laban for safety. While he was on his way, Jacob had a dream, and in the dream, God confirmed to Jacob that he was now under the covenant that God had made with Abraham. God’s promise to Abraham would now extend to Jacob as well, including the promise of land, descendants, and blessing. Even more important, God’s presence would be with Jacob wherever he goes.

After the dream, Jacob promised to make God his God if God would grant him safety and success on his trip to live with Laban. Eventually, Jacob came to a place where some shepherds and their flocks were gathered, and he asked if they knew Laban. They pointed out Laban’s daughter, Rachel, who had just arrived with her flock of sheep. Jacob watered Rachel’s sheep and revealed who he was. Rachel ran back to her father and told him, and Laban embraced Jacob and brought him home.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 29 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God works even through the failings of humans to bring about his purposes. We don’t actually see God referred to directly in this passage, but it’s evident that God is still working. Despite Jacob’s preference for the “beautiful” daughter, and despite Laban’s deceit, God still worked to bring about his plan to make Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob into a great nation.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People who work should get paid. While Jacob stayed with Laban, Jacob worked for Laban. Laban insisted on paying Jacob a wage for his work. Jacob had an interesting proposal: Instead of working for money, he would work for Rachel, Laban’s daughter.

People often judge others by their outward appearance. Jacob seemed to be somewhat superficial in his assessment of Laban’s daughters. He loved Rachel, who had a lovely figure and was beautiful. However, Jacob did not look as favorably on Leah, who had weak eyes. We don’t even know what the rest of Leah’s appearance was like, but it’s clear that Jacob favored the more beautiful daughter.

People are willing to work hard for love. Jacob loved Rachel, and he was willing to work for seven years for the opportunity to marry her. That’s a lot of work! And then when he was deceived and given Leah instead, he was willing to work another seven years for Rachel. If only people today were willing to work as hard to keep their marriages together!

People use deceit to get what they want. Deceit seems to be a theme in a lot of the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Both Abraham and Isaac used deceit when they claimed that their wives were their sisters. Jacob deceived Isaac to claim Isaac’s blessing before his death. And now we see Laban using deceit to get his first daughter married. Yet somehow, God works through it all.

People sometimes place their traditions above their word. When it came to giving his daughters away in marriage, Laban placed his traditions above his word. Laban had promised Jacob that Jacob could marry Rachel after seven years of work. But instead of honoring his word, Laban placed his traditions first. Tradition said that the older daughter must marry before the younger daughter. So Laban gave Leah to Jacob in marriage instead of Rachel.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was for Jacob to be married to Laban’s daughters. God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would make them into a great nation, but Abraham and Isaac both had trouble bearing children. Abraham had to wait 25 years for Isaac to be born, and Isaac waited 20 years for Jacob and Esau to be born. This doesn’t seem like a good start to a great nation. But the great nation started to blossom with Jacob. Whereas only one son carried on God’s promise to Abraham and Isaac, all of Jacob’s sons would carry on God’s promise. For this, God gave him multiple wives—Leah and Rachel along with their attendants Zilpah and Bilhah.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

This story is where we see the foundation of God’s promise to make Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob into a great nation being set up. God’s promise to Abraham only extended through one son—Isaac. God’s promise to Isaac only extended to one son—Jacob. Both Abraham and Isaac had other descendants through whom God’s blessing did not pass. But all that changes with Jacob. God’s blessing didn’t flow to only one of Jacob’s descendants. It flowed to all of them. Through Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah, we see the 12 tribes of Israel be born. These tribes are the focus of the rest of the Old Testament and into the New Testament.

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Romans 4:4, Luke 10:1-7, Matthew 20:1-16.

Subscribe now

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 29 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 29 1

133KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 29 1

132KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: When in your life did you not receive something you thought was rightfully yours, or you did receive something that was not rightfully yours?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 27:1-40.

27 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”

“Here I am,” he answered.

² Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. ³ Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. ⁴ Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, ⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, ⁷ ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.’ ⁸ Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: ⁹ Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. ¹⁰ Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.”

¹¹ Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. ¹² What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.”

¹³ His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.”

¹⁴ So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. ¹⁶ She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. ¹⁷ Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.

¹⁸ He went to his father and said, “My father.”

“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”

¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”

²⁰ Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”

“The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied.

²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”

²² Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he proceeded to bless him. ²⁴ “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.

“I am,” he replied.

²⁵ Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.”

Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. ²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.”

²⁷ So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said,

“Ah, the smell of my son
    is like the smell of a field
    that the Lord has blessed.
²⁸ May God give you heaven’s dew
    and earth’s richness—
    an abundance of grain and new wine.
²⁹ May nations serve you
    and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
    and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
    and those who bless you be blessed.”

³⁰ After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. ³¹ He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”

³² His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”

“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.”

³³ Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!”

³⁴ When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!”

³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

³⁶ Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”

³⁷ Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”

³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.

³⁹ His father Isaac answered him,

“Your dwelling will be
    away from the earth’s richness,
    away from the dew of heaven above.
⁴⁰ You will live by the sword
    and you will serve your brother.
But when you grow restless,
    you will throw his yoke
    from off your neck.”

What is the context for this passage?

After Isaac and Rebekah had their two sons Jacob and Esau, a famine hit the land, and God instructed Isaac to not go down to Egypt to avoid the famine. God confirmed the promise he made to Abraham, passing that promise along to Isaac. So instead of going to Egypt, Isaac sought solace in the land of the Philistines. While he was there, he made the same mistake Abraham did (twice!)—he told everyone that his wife was his sister in order to keep the people from harming him. Once the king of the Philistines, Abimelek, found out the truth, he was angry with Isaac but still gave orders to his people not to harm Isaac or Rebekah. (Abraham also pulled this trick on Abimelek in Genesis 20, but it was likely a different Abimelek—perhaps the father of the one mentioned in Genesis 26. Abimelek was a title for the Philistine ruler, similar to Pharaoh in Egypt.)

While Isaac lived with the Philistines, he became rich. His crops produced bountifully, and he had many flocks and servants. The Philistines became jealous of him, so Abimelek asked Isaac to move away from them. Isaac did so, and every time he found a well and opened it (the Philistines had stopped up all the wells that Abraham had dug), someone quarreled with him over it. So he kept moving on until he found a well that no one disputed. He settled there.

After he had settled, God again confirmed his blessing on Isaac, and Isaac worshipped God. Shortly after that, Abimelek came to Isaac and asked Isaac to make a treaty with the Philistines that they would always treat each other peacefully. They celebrated together and made the treaty. 

At this point, the story shifts back to Jacob and Esau. The last time we looked at Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25), Esau had come in from the field famished, and he sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. Esau eventually married some Hittite women, who were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah. Now, Isaac is old and ready to pass on the Lord’s blessing to his children.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 27 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

The Lord gives abundant blessings. We don’t see a lot revealed to us about God in this passage, but we do see that Isaac and his family believe that God will bless them. When Jacob tells Isaac that God gave him success in his hunting, even though this was a lie, Isaac didn’t question that God had the power to do this. Isaac also referred to God’s blessing in his blessing to Jacob.

God honors the blessing that Isaac gives. Even though Isaac was deceived when he gave his blessing to Jacob instead of Esau, God honored that blessing. When Isaac realized he had been deceived, he said with confidence that the blessing he gave Jacob would definitely be fulfilled. This can only happen if God fulfills it.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People’s bodies start to deteriorate in their old age. As those of us who have hit a certain age know, the older we get, the more our bodies start to fall apart. One of the ways that Isaac’s body started to fail him was his eyesight. Isaac could no longer see, so it was easy for Jacob and Rebekah to deceive him.

People plan for their death. Isaac knew that he was going to die soon, so he made plans to pass on his blessing to his sons. Death is certain, and we do not take our possessions with us when we die, so we must make a plan for what will happen to our possessions when we die.

People can manipulate situations for their own gain. Rebekah heard Isaac plan to bless Esau, and she wanted that blessing for Jacob instead. Maybe she was remembering what God had told her while she was still pregnant with the twins, or maybe she had other reasons, but she manipulated both Jacob and Isaac to make sure that Jacob received Isaac’s blessing.

People use deception to get what they want. In order for Jacob to receive Isaac’s blessing, he had to deceive Isaac. He had to pretend to be Esau, the one that Isaac was expecting to bless. Jacob used Isaac’s weakness—his poor eyesight—to pull off this deception. He made the food that Isaac was expecting (or, rather, Rebekah made the food), and he wore Esau’s clothes and made his skin hairy like Esau’s. And Isaac was indeed deceived.

People question situations that don’t seem right. In spite of all the work that Jacob and Rebekah went through to deceive Isaac, Isaac still seemed to detect that something wasn’t quite right. He questioned how quickly his son had success with his hunting, and he questioned that Jacob’s voice didn’t match Esau’s. Yet Isaac still went forward with the blessing.

Parents want to pass on blessings to their children. As was the tradition, when Isaac was about to die, he wanted to pass on blessings to his children. He had received God’s blessing passed to him through Abraham, and now he was about to pass that on to Esau—but Jacob and Rebekah had other plans.

Children want to please their parents. Both Jacob and Esau wanted to please Isaac in order to receive the blessing. Esau did exactly what his father asked—he hunted and made some food for him. Jacob also made the tasty food that Isaac preferred in order to trick Isaac into giving him the blessing instead.

People are upset when they don’t get what they expect. When Esau came back from hunting and approached his father with the food that he had prepared, Esau found out that Jacob had received the blessing intended for Esau. As seems human, Esau did not react well to this. He begged for his father’s blessing anyway. Isaac did what he could, but it was not the blessing Esau had hoped for.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was for Jacob to receive Isaac’s blessing rather than Esau. Just as God had told Rebekah while she was pregnant, God’s plan was for Jacob to rule over Esau. This plan was set into motion when Jacob deceived Isaac to receive the blessing that was intended for the firstborn. Not only did Isaac’s primary blessing go to Jacob, but God’s blessing for Abraham and Isaac also passed on to Jacob.

God’s plan was for Esau to live a harder life and serve his brother. The blessing that Isaac had left for Esau did not predict an easy life for Esau. Esau’s life would be away from earth’s richness and away from heaven’s blessing. He would end up serving his brother, just as God had foretold to Rebekah. However, there was hope for Esau. He would be able to eventually rid himself of the burden he felt from Jacob’s dominion over him.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

In Genesis 12, God first gave his promise to Abraham that he would make Abraham into a great nation and bless him. God also promised Abraham a son through whom this promise and blessing would be carried on. That son was Isaac. At Abraham’s death, the promise that God had with Abraham got passed on to Isaac—not Ishmael, Abraham’s true firstborn, but Isaac, the promised son that Abraham had with Sarah. Now, at Isaac’s death, it’s time for that blessing to be passed on again. And God has determined that the blessing will not flow to Esau, the firstborn, but to Jacob, the younger twin.

In Genesis 28, God confirms his covenant with Jacob through a dream. He promises that Jacob’s descendants will inherit the land he is on and that all peoples will be blessed through him. God promised to be with Jacob and watch over him wherever he goes. We will see through the rest of Genesis and the Old Testament that God keeps this promise. Jacob eventually has 12 sons that become the 12 tribes of Israel (although it’s a little more complicated than that), and God does bring them back into the land as he promised. The Israelites do a pretty poor job of following God consistently, and Israel’s enemies continually try to conquer them. At times, God gets so fed up with their disobedience and pursuing other false gods that he allows them to be defeated, and they eventually get carried off into captivity.

But through all this, God is faithful. God remembers his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he will bless all nations through them. So he preserves a remnant, specifically of the tribe of Judah, and he sends a Messiah through the line of Judah. This isn’t just any Messiah. This is God himself, sent to earth as a man, sent to live a perfect life and to die for our sins. This is the true blessing that was passed down from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob. God cared for and preserved this family line so that Jesus could come to earth to be the Savior of the world.

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Genesis 27:41-29:14.

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Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 27 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 27

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Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 27

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*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: If you have any siblings, what was/is your relationship with them like? Did you fight all the time? Or did you get along well?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 25:19-34.

¹⁹ This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.

Abraham became the father of Isaac, ²⁰ and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.

²¹ Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. ²² The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

²³ The Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
    and the older will serve the younger.”

²⁴ When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. ²⁵ The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. ²⁶ After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

²⁷ The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. ²⁸ Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. ³⁰ He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)

³¹ Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

³² “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

³³ But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

What is the context for this passage?

In the stories in Genesis of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we don’t get much time with Isaac. In his early years, Isaac’s story is mostly focused on Abraham—Abraham waiting for a son, finally getting the son God promised (Isaac), sending Abraham’s illegitimate son (Ishmael) away, and then God’s test of Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Once Isaac grows up, we have one chapter (Genesis 24) that focuses on Isaac getting a wife, although that story focuses more on Rebekah than it does on Isaac.

Once Isaac is married, we have a short passage about Abraham’s death (Genesis 25:1-11). We find that Abraham left everything to Isaac, even though Abraham had another wife and many more sons. We do learn one important thing, though—God blessed Isaac, just as he had blessed Abraham before him. Then, before we learn much more about Isaac, the story switches to Isaac’s sons, Jacob and Esau. Today’s passage is about their birth and relationship as brothers.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 25 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God hears the prayers of his people. Isaac received God’s blessing passed down from his father Abraham, so now Isaac is one of God’s people, just as his father had been. And just like his father, Isaac worshiped God and followed him. So when Isaac prayed for his wife to have a child, God listened.

God answers the prayers of his people. Not only does God hear the prayers of his people, he answers them. Sometimes he doesn’t answer in the way we expect, but he always answers. When Isaac prayed on behalf of his childless wife, God answered by sending them twin boys.

God has control over childbirth. God’s answer to prayer was to cause Rebekah to become pregnant. Although she had been barren for 20 years, God was able to open her womb so that she could bear the son who would carry on Abraham’s line and God’s blessing. God was able to keep her womb closed, and he was able to open it again. This control that God has over childbirth is seen many times in the Bible, including with Abraham and Sarah.

God speaks to his people. When Rebekah went to inquire about the active child in her womb, she was told there wasn’t one child, but two! God told her what would happen with her two sons. They would be separated into two nations, and the nation of the younger brother would be stronger than the nation of the older brother.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People want children to carry on their family line. Especially in Bible times, having a child to carry on the family line and the family legacy was vitally important. Being barren was viewed as being cursed by God. So why would there be barrenness in the line of God’s blessing? To show God’s power over all creation.

Siblings fight with each other. This passage shows human nature all too well. Some people get lucky (like me) and have a sibling they get along with, but many siblings grow up fighting against each other. Even from within the womb, Jacob and Esau were fighting, and that didn’t seem to stop as they grew up. They continued to have conflict and competition.

People often question God. When Rebekah felt the babies jostling within her, she questioned God: “Why is this happening to me?” When we face difficulty, we often approach God with the same question.

People can have different complexions and personalities even from the same parents. When Jacob and Esau were born, they looked and acted completely different even though they had the same parents—and even shared the womb together! I’ve seen this in a lot of families (including my nieces and nephews). This shows God’s creative combination of genes to bring about exactly the characteristics he wants.

Sometimes parents have favorite children. As much as some parents like to say they don’t have favorites, or try to make sure they don’t favor one child over another, they are human. Even if it’s not overt favoritism like in this passage, parents often play favorites. In this passage, Isaac favored Esau, and Rebekah favored Jacob.

People often over-react to what seems like dire situations. When Esau came in from his time in the open country, he was famished. Perhaps he hadn’t had much success hunting, and he hadn’t eaten in days. Although he likely wouldn’t have died if he took time to fix some food for himself, his hunger over-rode his good sense enough to make him sell his birthright for a bowl of stew. How often do we over-react to situations that we would view differently in other circumstances?

People sometimes try to trick or take advantage of others. When Esau came in and demanded a bowl of stew to alleviate his hunger, Jacob immediately tried to take advantage of Esau’s state of mind. What did Jacob want most? The birthright. In order to get it, he withheld the one thing that Esau needed—food—to use as a bargaining chip.

People do not react well when they are taken advantage of. Once Esau was no longer hungry and he had time to think about what he had done and how Jacob took advantage of him, he was angry. He despised his birthright, and that anger extended not only to his birthright but to Jacob as well.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to give Isaac a son through which God’s promise would be fulfilled. God promised Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation, and Isaac was the son through which God would fulfill that promise. But there was a problem—Isaac’s wife was childless. Even though this seems like a barrier from a human perspective, it was not a barrier for God. God opened Rebekah’s womb and gave Isaac the son who would continue the line of God’s promise.

God’s plan was to have two nations come from Isaac and Rebekah. When God opened Rebekah’s womb, he sent Isaac and Rebekah not one son but two. God foretold that these two sons would become two nations, but the younger son would bring forth the stronger nation.

God’s plan was for Jacob to have the birthright even though he was younger. Even before their birth, God had a plan for Isaac and Rebekah’s two boys: The older would serve the younger. The start of the fulfillment of this plan occurred when Esau sold his birthright to Jacob. With the birthright, Jacob would be the one to receive the blessing and the bulk of the inheritance. Jacob’s line would be the one through which the Messiah would come.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

In this short passage, we see the three forefathers of the Israelites in one passage for the first time. It starts with describing the family line of Abraham through Isaac and ends with Isaac’s son Jacob receiving the birthright from Esau. In this passage, we see God’s propensity for upending the way humans think things should be. Instead of the birthright and the blessing of Abraham’s line going through Esau, the firstborn, it went through Jacob even though Jacob was younger.

I don’t know what his reasoning was, but God had a reason for picking Jacob rather than Esau to fulfill his promise to Abraham to become a great nation. Not only did this completely switch the line of the birthright and blessing, it showed careful selection of which son would be the one through which the Messiah would come. Jesus came through the line of Jacob, not the line of Esau. And throughout the Old Testament, God’s favor and focus rested on the descendants of Jacob, not the descendants of Esau. God made this choice before they were even born. Even when the Israelites rejected God, God still preserved a remnant of Jacob’s line for the Messiah.

Just like with Jacob and Esau, God created each one of us, and he knows exactly what his plan is for us before we are ever born. Psalm 139:13-16 says:

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

God ordained all our days before we were even born. He knows exactly what his plan is for each of us. And for those who are predestined, part of God’s plan is for us to seek him. We see this in Jeremiah 29:11-13:

¹¹ “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

This promise may have been made to the Babylonian exiles, but they are just as true for us today. What hope and future does God have for us? He gave us eternal hope through his son, Jesus Christ, who came through the line of Jacob. Jesus, God himself born as a man, lived a perfect life and paid the penalty for our sins so that we could live in hope of eternal life if we believe in him.

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Malachi 1:1-5.

Subscribe now

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 25 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 25

142KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 25

140KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

In today’s passage, we jump into the middle of a story, but the chapter basically recounts the story twice, so I chose only one of those recountings. I was originally going to study the entire passage in this lesson, but it was just too long for a single lesson. So I would highly encourage you to read all of Genesis 24 to understand the whole story. Consider asking the main three questions of the whole chapter: What do we learn about God? What do we learn about people? What do we learn about God’s plan?

Opening

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: If you are married, how did you meet your spouse?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 24:32-51.

³² So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. ³³ Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.”

“Then tell us,” Laban said.

³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. ³⁷ And my master made me swear an oath, and said, ‘You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, ³⁸ but go to my father’s family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.’

³⁹ “Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’

⁴⁰ “He replied, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked faithfully, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family. ⁴¹ You will be released from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they refuse to give her to you—then you will be released from my oath.’

⁴² “When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. ⁴³ See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,” ⁴⁴ and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

⁴⁵ “Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’

⁴⁶ “She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also.

⁴⁷ “I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’

“She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.’

“Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, ⁴⁸ and I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.”

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”

What is the context for this passage?

The last time we studied Abraham, we were in Genesis 22. In that chapter, God asked Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. Isaac was the son that God had promised to Abraham and Sarah, and they waited 25 years for that promise to be fulfilled. Yet now, God was asking Abraham to kill that long-awaited-for son. Completely trusting in God, Abraham did as God asked. He took Isaac up on a mountain and prepared to offer him as a burnt offering to God. As Abraham was about to kill his son, an angel of the Lord called out to him to stop him. Abraham had passed God’s test. God spared Isaac’s life and gave Abraham a ram to sacrifice instead.

At the end of Genesis 22, we are told that Abraham’s brother Nahor had several sons, one of whom became the father of Rebekah. Then in Genesis 23, we learn that Sarah died at the age of 127. Abraham bought a field with a cave—the owner wanted to gift it to him, but Abraham insisted on buying it—to bury his wife Sarah. Now, in Abraham’s old age, he is ready to make sure that Isaac has a good wife. So he sends his servant to his brother Nahor’s house to find Isaac a wife. We pick up in the middle of that story.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 24 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God blesses those who follow him. Throughout his life, Abraham was richly blessed by God. He accumulated all kinds of wealth. Abraham was also blessed with a rich relationship with God. Although God may not bless all of his people with this same level of wealth, he does bless his followers with a rich relationship with him.

God guides his people. When Abraham sent his servant on this journey, God sent an angel to guide the servant to the house of Abraham’s brother. The presence of this guiding angel assured that Abraham’s servant would have success on his journey.

God listens to the prayers of his people. When Abraham’s servant got to the land of Abraham’s family, he prayed to God for success in his journey and that God would give him a sign to know which woman God had chosen for Isaac. God listened to this prayer and gave him the sign he asked for.

God’s timing is always perfect. Before Abraham’s servant had even finished praying, God had answered his prayer. In God’s perfect timing, Rebekah came out to draw water, and the servant recognized the sign that he had asked God to perform.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

Masters delegate responsibility to their servants. At this point in his life, Abraham was very old, as we learn in Genesis 24:1. Therefore, Abraham sent his servant on this journey to find a wife for Isaac rather than going himself.

Abraham had trust in his servant. To entrust his servant with such an important task, Abraham must have had great trust in his servant that the servant would follow his directions and carry out the task in full.

People make contingency plans. Because people are not always predictable and are not always willing to do what God asks of them, Abraham and his servant came up with a backup plan in case the woman was unwilling to leave her home. Although Abraham was sure that God would grant the servant success, they made a contingency plan anyway.

People pray to God for guidance. When Abraham’s servant got to the land of Abraham’s family, he prayed that God would guide him to the right woman for Isaac. He asked for a sign so that he would understand which woman was the right one—the one that God had chosen for Isaac.

Women were given the task of drawing water. During this time in history, women were often the ones who were sent to draw water for the family and the livestock. Out of all the women who could have possibly come to draw water at that time, God sent exactly the right one at the right time.

Rebekah was generous and hospitable. When Abraham’s servant asked Rebekah for some water, she quickly gave him water and offered to draw water for his camels as well. Although this was part of the sign that the servant had asked for, it also shows that Rebekah had a heart of generosity and hospitality. Her family did as well, as they were willing to take in the servant and all those he was traveling with, including the animals. They were willing to house them and feed them while they heard the reason he had come.

People give gifts to others to find favor with them. When Abraham’s servant identified Rebekah as the one God had chosen, he gave her gifts. He also gave gifts to the rest of the family. This was customary at the time to help them find favor in the eyes of the recipient and to bless them.

People who follow God worship him when he gives them success. The servant’s immediate response when he knew that God had made his journey a success was to worship God. He knew that God had led him to the right place and to the right woman, so his natural response was praise and worship.

People share stories with each other. After Laban and his family took in Abraham’s servant and all those with him, the servant would not eat until he told the family why he was there. He told the whole story, from the oath he had with Abraham to meeting Rebekah at the well. Earlier in the chapter, Rebekah had also told her side of the story to her mother.

People tend to trust family and other believers. I don’t know about you, but if some stranger came and asked me to send my daughter/sister off to marry someone whom I had never met, I’m not sure I would have been as accepting of that as Laban and the rest of Rebekah’s family was. But because of their trust in family and in God, Laban and Rebekah agreed that Rebekah should return with the servant so that Rebekah could marry Isaac.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to bless Abraham. All through Abraham’s story, we see over and over again that God blessed Abraham and continued to bless him. In this story, we see the accumulation of God’s blessing in Abraham’s life through his wealth, but we also see that God’s blessing extended beyond Abraham to Isaac. God blessed Isaac by selecting a wife from within his own people to help him carry on God’s promise to make Abraham into a great nation.

God’s plan was that Isaac would have a wife from within his own family. Abraham was concerned about the need for Isaac to have a wife from within his own people. He didn’t want Isaac to have a wife from the Canaanites, because the Canaanites didn’t follow the one true God. God, in his wisdom, selected a wife for Isaac from within Abraham’s extended family.

God’s plan was to make Abraham’s servant’s journey successful. Abraham sent his servant on a journey to find Isaac the wife that God had chosen for him. Due to Abraham’s and the servant’s faithfulness and God’s faithfulness, God made the servant successful in his journey. He led the servant to Abraham’s brother’s household to find a wife for Isaac.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

Throughout the Bible, God makes it clear that the Israelites were not to marry outside the Israelite community. The main reason for this is that people from other nations do not follow God but instead follow other gods. If the Israelites marry outside their own people, then those false gods are introduced into their lives, and they tend to go astray. This happened repeatedly in the Bible. By finding a wife for Isaac from within their own family, Abraham could be more assured that the woman would follow the one true God and would not lead Isaac astray to follow other gods. This was important for maintaining the integrity of the Israelite faith, especially during these early years when Abraham’s line and the Israelites were being established as a nation.

Share

Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Genesis 24 in full.

Subscribe now

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 24 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 24

132KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 24

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*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: Have you ever been asked to do something you really didn’t want to do, but you felt that you had to? How did the situation turn out?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 22:1-19.

22 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

² Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

¹⁵ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶ and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

¹⁹ Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

What is the context for this passage?

When Abraham was 75 years old, God promised that Abraham’s descendants would become a great nation (Genesis 12). After a dozen years of waiting for a son to carry on his family line, Abraham and Sarah didn’t want to wait any longer. They developed a plan for Abraham to sleep with Sarah’s servant, Hagar, and they would have a son through Hagar. But this plan backfired when Hagar did become pregnant, and Sarah was jealous and spiteful to Hagar and Hagar’s son, Ishmael (Genesis 16).

God repeatedly comes to Abraham and promises that Abraham will have a son with Sarah. Finally, when Abraham is 99, God tells him that he will have a son next year (Genesis 18). And indeed, Sarah does conceive, and Abraham finally has his promised son at the age of 100. They named their son Isaac, as God commanded. They loved Isaac, and even sent away Hagar and Ishmael because Sarah didn’t want Ishmael to have any share in Abraham’s inheritance (Genesis 21). Finally, Abraham and Sarah could live in peace to bring up their treasured son, Isaac, whom God had promised and for whom they had waited 25 years.   

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 22 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God gives directions for his people to follow. Throughout Abraham’s life, God has given Abraham directions on where to live and what to do. Abraham has faithfully followed those directions and has been blessed through his obedience. In this story, God again gives Abraham instructions to follow—except this time, the stakes are much greater. He asks Abraham to sacrifice his son.

God sometimes tests his people by asking them to do hard things. God knows people’s hearts, but occasionally he will test his most faithful people by asking them to do hard things. Here, he asks Abraham to sacrifice his son. Will Abraham have enough faith in God to follow through? Will Abraham trust that God will provide a way to keep his promise to make Abraham’s descendants into a great nation? God decided to find out the answers to these questions.

God is a provider. When Abraham had sufficiently passed God’s test, God provided a way out. A lamb for the sacrifice. God provides for his people in many ways, and this is not the first time he has provided for Abraham. But it is perhaps God’s most important provision for Abraham. God provided a substitute sacrifice so that Abraham would not have to sacrifice his son.

God is a rescuer. In this story, God rescues both Abraham and Isaac. He rescues Abraham from having to follow through on the extremely hard action of sacrificing his son. And he rescues Isaac from being sacrificed.

God blesses those who are obedient to him. When Abraham had proven his faithfulness to God and his willingness to be obedient, God blessed Abraham. Or really, God re-confirmed his blessing that he had made to Abraham many years ago—to bless Abraham and make his descendants into a great nation.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People who trust God are willing to do hard things when he asks. Abraham had a pattern of having complete faith in God, and this story confirms his faith. God had asked him to do the hardest thing you could imagine—sacrifice his son. This son that Abraham had waited 25 years for. This son through whom God said his promise would be fulfilled. This son that Abraham had chosen over his true firstborn son. God wanted Abraham to sacrifice Isaac out of obedience, and Abraham was willing to do that.

Abraham was prepared to be obedient to God. When Abraham started on the journey to sacrifice Isaac, he didn’t just start walking. He was truly prepared, physically and mentally, to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham brought with him wood, fire, and a knife. All the supplies necessary for a sacrifice. And he brought Isaac, who would be the sacrifice. He also brought his faith in God—he had faith that God would provide the lamb.

Abraham thought ahead to separate himself from anyone who might stop him from obeying God. Although for most of the journey, Abraham and Isaac had his servants with him, at one point, Abraham asks the servants to stay back. Perhaps he thought those servants might try to stop him from sacrificing Isaac, and Abraham didn’t want anything to stand in the way of his obedience to God. What is holding you back from being obedient to God? What might you need to step away from in order to be obedient?

People ask questions when things don’t make sense. Isaac knew that he was going with his father to make a sacrifice and worship. He saw all the supplies for the sacrifice, except the most important thing. The lamb. That didn’t make sense to Isaac, because Isaac didn’t know the whole plan. So he asked his father his question—Where is the lamb?

Abraham trusted that God would provide a lamb. In response to Isaac’s question about the lamb, Abraham responded that God would provide the lamb. We don’t know whether this was Abraham’s true belief or whether he was just covering up his plan, but seeing Abraham display his faith throughout his life, it’s very likely that this is exactly what Abraham expected to happen. He was willing to follow through and be obedient, even if it meant sacrificing his son, but he was also trusting that God would provide another way.

Abraham continually listened for God’s instructions. When God called out to Abraham at the beginning of this story, Abraham listened. He heard God’s voice and followed God’s instructions. But once Abraham thought he had all the instructions, he didn’t stop listening for God’s voice. Even all the way to the end, when he had the knife raised to sacrifice his son, he was still listening. And that constant attention to God’s voice paid off—the angel of the Lord called to him and told him not to kill his son.

Abraham feared God. When the angel of the Lord stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, the angel said, “Now I know that you fear God.” That was the point of this test. To see if Abraham feared God. What does that mean? It means that Abraham had such faith in God, such reverence for God, that it changed the way he lived. God’s influence was the most important influence in his life, even over his beloved son.

People can display their faith in God by their actions of obedience. God knew that Abraham had faith because it was visible in his actions of obedience. Abraham didn’t just follow God in his mind, hidden away from everyone else. His faith was visible to everyone because of the choices Abraham made and the actions he took. We can also display our faith by being obedient to God in a way that is visible to those around us.

Abraham was thankful for God’s intervention. When God provided the lamb for the sacrifice, Abraham didn’t just say, “See, I knew God would do that. I knew he wouldn’t make me sacrifice my son.” No, instead he sacrificed the ram that was provided and followed through in his time of worship. He celebrated God’s provision.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to test Abraham’s faith. Abraham was the first person in the line God had selected to eventually bring his Son to earth. Did God make the right choice? God decided to find out by testing Abraham. And Abraham passed the test, showing that God does absolutely know the best plan and select the right people to fulfill that plan.

God’s plan was to save Isaac from death. God’s plan was to make Abraham’s descendants into a great nation through Isaac, the promised son. God didn’t really want Isaac to be dead. God wanted Isaac to be alive to fulfill God’s promise. Therefore, God had a plan to save Isaac from death, as long as Abraham was obedient. Abraham’s obedience and faith in God was the key to God’s plan being unfurled.

God’s plan was to reward Abraham’s obedience. This whole story is a test of Abraham’s faith and obedience. It was a hard plan, but necessary. If (and when) Abraham passed God’s test, God’s plan was to reward Abraham’s obedience. This reward was to fulfill the promise that God had made to bless Abraham and make his descendants as numerous as the starts in the sky. Not only that, but God promised to bless all nations through Abraham’s offspring. And all of this could be fulfilled because of Abraham’s obedience.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

This passage has so many themes that can be seen throughout the rest of the Bible. First, we have the theme of Abraham’s descendants becoming a great nation. We’ve explored this theme in the last several lessons in Genesis. Back in Genesis 12, God promised that Abraham’s descendants would become great nation. This promise was reiterated several times until God finally gave Abraham and Sarah a son. Then, when God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham obeyed. Once Abraham had proven his faith in God, God saved Isaac and again promised to make Abraham’s descendants into a great nation. We see this promise fulfilled through the nation of Israel, whose story is recorded throughout the Old Testament and beyond.

Second, we have God as provider for his people. When Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham had faith that God would provide a lamb. And if he didn’t, then Abraham believed that God could raise Isaac from the dead (see Hebrews 11:17-19). Either way, Abraham had faith that God would provide life for Isaac due to Abraham’s obedience. God confirms his ability to provide over and over again. He provided a way out of slavery for the Israelites. He provided food and water for the Israelites in the wilderness. He provided victory in battle as the Israelites took over the Promised Land. He provided a Son for Mary, a Son who would be the Savior of the world. He provided power for the apostles as they shared the good news of Jesus Christ. And today, he provides a way of salvation, a way to avoid condemnation and separation from God.

Finally, we see a father willing to give up his son for a greater purpose. Abraham knew that God had promised that his descendants would be reckoned through Isaac (Genesis 21:12). He may not have understood God’s command to sacrifice this son who had been promised to him for so long. But he trusted God’s plan, and he was willing to sacrifice his son for that plan. Later in Scripture, we see another Father willing to sacrifice his Son for God’s plan. God himself allowed his own perfect Son to be sacrificed on the cross for a greater plan—a plan that would provide forgiveness and salvation to all who call on his name. Except God had to actually follow through with sacrificing his son. Whereas God provided a lamb as a substitute for Abraham’s son, God’s son was the only perfect Lamb that could take away the sins of the world.

The next time God asks you to do something that seems really hard and that doesn’t make sense, remember, God isn’t going to ask you to do something he isn’t willing to do. God isn’t going to ask you to do something hard and then not give you the faith and the strength to complete the task. He will be with you and provide everything you need to be obedient.

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Hebrews 11:17-19.

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 22 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 22

136KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 22

139KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: If you have siblings, did/do you get along well with them? Or did/do you always have conflict? Are things different now as adults compared to when you were kids?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 21:1-21.

21 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. ² Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. ³ Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. ⁴ When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. ⁵ Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

⁶ Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” ⁷ And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

⁸ The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. ⁹ But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, ¹⁰ and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”

¹¹ The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. ¹² But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. ¹³ I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.”

¹⁴ Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.

¹⁵ When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. ¹⁶ Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob.

¹⁷ God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. ¹⁸ Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

²⁰ God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. ²¹ While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.

What is the context for this passage?

When Abraham was 99 years old, God once again confirmed his covenant with Abraham that Abraham and Sarah would have a son by that time next year (Genesis 18). What happened in that year? Last week, we read about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). God heard the outcries against these cities for their evil actions, and he could tolerate it no longer. So he destroyed them with fire from heaven. But he saved Lot and Lot’s two daughters. The two sons-in-law refused to believe the warning, so they were lost. And Lot’s wife looked back at the burning city, so she turned into a pillar of salt. Then we read that Lot’s daughters were worried that they had no children and no men to bear children with, so they tricked Lot into getting them pregnant. They each had a son, who were the fathers of the Moabites and Ammonites, two nations that would later be enemies of the Israelites.

After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham continued to move around (Genesis 20). This time, he moved into the region of the Negev, between Kadesh and Shur (see map). Then he moved to Gerar. In Gerar, Abraham once again tried to pass Sarah off as his sister, so Abimelek, king of Gerar, took her for himself. After a warning from God, Abimelek knew that Sarah was Abraham’s wife, so he didn’t touch her and instead returned her to Abraham. Not only that, but Abimelek gave Abraham sheep, cattle, slaves, and silver. Ironically, the story ends with the note that when Abimelek took Sarah, God closed all the wombs of all the women in Abimelek’s household. And when Abimelek released Sarah, God opened all their wombs again. It is in this context that Sarah also gets pregnant. (Note that it is unclear the exact timing of Sarah’s pregnancy, whether she conceived before or after this story. But the Scripture is clear that Sarah’s son is from Abraham.)

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 21 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God is gracious. The passage says that the Lord was gracious to Sarah by allowing her to become pregnant. God knew that Sarah wanted a child, and he himself had promised that Sarah would have a son. God was gracious to grant that desire of Sarah’s heart.

God keeps his promises. This has been a theme throughout the stories in Genesis, and we see it here again. It’s been 25 years since God’s initial promise to Abraham, and we finally get to see that he kept his promise to give Abraham and Sarah a son.

God is in control of conception and pregnancy. After so many years of trying to conceive unsuccessfully, God finally opened Sarah’s womb, and she was able to conceive and bear a son. God did this in his own perfect timing to make it clear that this son was God’s doing, not just a random coincidence.

God brings laughter to his people. When Sarah finally had a son in her old age, she knew that God had brought her laughter. This seems to be a joyful laughter, not an ironic laughter, because she says that everyone who hears about this will laugh WITH her, not AT her. God blesses his people with things that bring them laughter and joy.

God cares when his people are in distress. Once Sarah has Isaac, things start to shift for Hagar and Ishmael. Sarah wants Abraham to get rid of them, and this distresses Abraham. When God saw Abraham’s distress, God reached down to Abraham to give him comfort and direction.

God has a plan even for those outside his plan. Even though Ishmael was not the one through whom God’s promise would be fulfilled, God still had a plan for him because he was Abraham’s son. God can use anyone, whether they are his chosen people or not, to bring about his purposes.

God provides for his people. God’s provision is displayed in several ways throughout this story. First, he provides a son for Abraham and Sarah. Then, he provides a plan to Abraham for how he should handle the discord between Sarah and Ishmael. Finally, he provided water for Hagar and Ishmael when they had lost all hope. Through it all, God was with Ishmael even though Ishmael was not the son under God’s blessing.

God hears us when we cry. This passage mentions both Hagar and Ishmael crying, and God responds. God heard their crying, and he sent a promise and provisions. He promised that Ishmael would become a great nation, and he provided water for them to survive in the desert.

God helps people see his provisions. Hagar was so distraught in this story that she couldn’t see what God had provided. She essentially gives up on life, but once God hears the cries of Hagar and Ishmael, God opens her eyes to see the well that he had provided for them. When you can’t see your way through your current circumstances, ask God to open your eyes to see his provisions.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

God’s people follow his commands. Another theme throughout Genesis is the faithfulness of his people to follow his commands. Earlier in Genesis 17, God had given Abraham the covenant of circumcision. Once Isaac was born, Abraham was obedient to this covenant by circumcising Isaac. Abraham also followed God’s command to listen to Sarah. Then later, Hagar followed God’s command to keep pressing on and caring for Ishmael. Following God’s commands is essential to maintaining a healthy relationship with God.

People find humor in unexpected circumstances. When Sarah bore a child in her old age, she knew it would bring laughter to herself and those around her. They would have joy at this unexpected blessing.

Children grow up. This passage refers both to Isaac growing up to the time he was weaned and to Ishmael growing up from the age of 13 (at Isaac’s birth) to adulthood and marriage. Through the growth, God provides and cares for each child.

People often mock others whom they don’t like. At Isaac’s party when he was weaned, Ishmael was mocking him. At this point, Ishmael would have been a teenager, and Isaac was only a toddler. Yet Ishmael felt the need to mock Isaac. This may have been a sort of defense mechanism for Ishmael. I’m sure by this point, Ishmael would have known that even though he was Abraham’s first born, Isaac was the treasured son. And this probably wore on his emotions and self-worth. In circumstances like that, mocking or bullying becomes a way to protect yourself, even if it is not a healthy response.

People often react selfishly when someone wrongs them or someone they love. When Sarah saw Ishmael mocking Isaac, she immediately wanted Ishmael gone, along with his mother. Her reaction was instantly to protect her son and get rid of anything that might be detrimental to him. She had no concern for how this would affect Ishmael or Hagar.

People become distressed when something bad happens to someone they love. Sarah was distressed when Ishmael started mocking Isaac. Abraham was distressed when Sarah threatened Hagar and Ishmael. Hagar was distressed when she thought Ishmael was going to die in the desert. When something bad happens to someone we love, we instantly become distressed.

People try to provide the best they can for those they love even in difficult circumstances. When Abraham had to send Hagar and Ishmael away, he provided them with food and water. Hagar tried to provide for Ishmael the best she could, but she eventually ended up with nothing to give. Once she did find the water that God provided, she got water for the boy to drink. These were difficult circumstances, but through God’s provision and loving parents, Ishmael had what he needed to survive.

People often give up before God is done with their story. Once Hagar’s supplies ran out, her first instinct was to give up. She assumed that Ishmael would die, and she couldn’t face that reality. But God wasn’t done with her or Ishmael yet. If you feel like giving up, don’t! God isn’t finished with your story yet.

People are afraid of the unknown. When the angel of God called to Hagar, he said “do not be afraid.” Hagar was afraid that Ishmael would die, and she didn’t know what to do. Fear has a way of paralyzing people, just like it did for Hagar.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was for Abraham and Sarah to have a son. Throughout the last several chapters of Genesis, we see God’s plan unfolding for Abraham and Sarah to have a son. After 25 years, we finally see that plan fulfilled.

God’s plan was to fulfill his purpose through Isaac, not Ishmael. God promised that Abraham’s descendants would become a great nation, and that all people would be blessed through him. In this passage, we see that Isaac is the one through whom Abraham’s offspring will be reckoned. What does it mean to be reckoned? In this context, it means that God has an account to settle with people due to sin, and it is through Isaac that God will bring about the way to settle this account.

God’s plan was for Abraham to listen to Sarah’s advice. God’s plan to reconcile his people to himself would be fulfilled through Isaac. Sarah’s actions in this story were to protect her son Isaac, and God knew that Isaac needed to be protected in order to fulfill his plan. Therefore, God commanded Abraham to listen to Sarah, even though Sarah’s heart was set against Ishmael and Hagar. Although Sarah was selfish in her actions, God used that to bring about his plan for Isaac’s life.

God’s plan was to make Ishmael into a nation also. Even though Abraham and Sarah dismissed Ishmael, God didn’t forget about him. Ishmael was still Abraham’s son, and God still planned to make him into a great nation. Just because someone isn’t part of God’s primary plan doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a plan for that person at all.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

This passage shows God’s protection and preference for his divine plan. This plan would be fulfilled through Isaac, not Ishmael. So although God still worked to provide for Ishmael, his primary concern was for Isaac. God’s plan was that Abraham’s offspring would be reckoned through Isaac. We discussed this a little bit above, but what does this really mean? To be reckoned or reconciled implies that at some point, there has been a break in the relationship, and this relationship needs to be repaired. In this case, the relationship is between God and humans, and what caused the break was human sin.

As we read the rest of the Bible, we see God’s plan for this reconciliation playing out. He did build Abraham’s descendants into a great nation. Through that great nation would be born a Son, God’s Son, born as a human. God’s Son, Jesus, would live a perfect life, be a witness for God through teaching and miracles, and then die a horrific death to pay the penalty for sin. That’s God’s requirement—the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Only through paying this penalty can the relationship between God and humans be restored. As humans, we cannot pay that penalty because we are not sinless. But Jesus lived a perfect life, so he was able to be the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all humanity. And God’s plan for this path to redemption and reconciliation started with Abraham and his chosen son, Isaac.

Share

Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Genesis 28:6-9, Genesis 37:12-36.

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 21 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 21

134KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 21

137KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: Tell about a time when you pleaded for something on behalf of something else. What was the end result?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 18:20-19:29.

²⁰ Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous ²¹ that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

²² The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. ²³ Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

²⁶ The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

²⁷ Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, ²⁸ what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

²⁹ Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

³⁰ Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

³¹ Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

³² Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”

³³ When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

19 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. ² “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”

“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”

³ But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. ⁴ Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. ⁵ They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”

⁶ Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him ⁷ and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. ⁸ Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”

⁹ “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

¹⁰ But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. ¹¹ Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

¹² The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, ¹³ because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”

¹⁴ So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

¹⁵ With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”

¹⁶ When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. ¹⁷ As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”

¹⁸ But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! ¹⁹ Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. ²⁰ Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”

²¹ He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. ²² But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.)

²³ By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. ²⁴ Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. ²⁵ Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. ²⁶ But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

²⁷ Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. ²⁸ He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

²⁹ So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

What is the context for this passage?

When we left off last week, Hagar, Sarai’s servant, had just born Abram a son, Ishmael (Genesis 16). This son was not the son God had promised Abram, but Abram and Sarai had taken things into their own hands to get a son for themselves. This didn’t go as expected, because human feelings and discontent created strife between Sarai and Hagar.

Thirteen years later, when Abram was 99 years old, God came again to Abram and again repeated his covenant to give Abram a son through Sarai (Genesis 17). God even changed their names to Abraham and Sarah. This time, God also established circumcision as a sign of his covenant. All males eight days old and older must be circumcised. So Abraham and all in his household were circumcised that day.

A short time later, while Abraham was still 99 years old, three men visited Abraham (Genesis 18). These were not ordinary men. One of them was the Lord, and the other two were angels. Abraham immediately invited them to rest, and he offered water to wash their feet and food to eat. He arranged for Sarah and his servants to prepare a feast for the men. They casually asked him where his wife Sarah was, and one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son” (Genesis 18:10). After almost 25 years of waiting, Abraham finally had a timeframe for when his son would be born! However, Sarah was in the tent nearby and overheard the conversation. Her response? She laughed! She was skeptical that this would or could happen. The Lord called her out on this and once again promised that Sarah would bear a son.

As the men got up to leave, they looked toward Sodom, and the Lord decided to reveal to Abraham what he was about to do to Sodom and Gomorrah. That’s where we pick up the story today.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 18 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God listens to his people when they cry out to him. The people in Sodom and Gomorrah were so evil that people were crying out to God against them. God heard them and responded. He decided to come down himself and check out what was really happening in Sodom and Gomorrah (even though as God, he already knew). And he had a plan in place to destroy them if they were really as evil as the outcry indicated.

God knows about the sins of the people. Due to both his own sovereignty and omniscience as well as his willingness to listen to those who cry out to him, God knew about the evil that was happening in Sodom and Gomorrah. If you ever think about trying to hide your sins from God, don’t bother. He already knows.

God is merciful. When God told Abraham his plan for Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham pleaded with God to save the city if God could find 50 righteous people there. God, in his great mercy, agreed. Abraham then decreased the number to 45, then 40, then 30, then 20, and finally 10. Each time, God agreed. If he could find even 10 righteous people there, he would have mercy on the cities. Later, when God had decided to destroy the cities, he had mercy on Lot and his family by pulling them out of the city before he destroyed them. Lot and his family were even allowed to go to a nearby city and not all the way into the mountains. God’s mercy on those who are righteous is on full display in this passage.

God is the judge of the earth. Abraham knew that God is judge of all the earth. And he called on God’s justice to not treat the righteous and the wicked alike by destroying them both. In this story and throughout the Bible, God judges people based on their righteousness vs. their sin. Only those who follow God wholeheartedly will be righteous in God’s sight.

God has power over people’s physical bodies. God’s power over his creation, especially people’s physical bodies, is shown twice in this story. First, when the men from Sodom are struck blind so that they could not reach the two men who were visitors at Lot’s house. Second, when he turns Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt when she looked back at the destruction.

God cannot tolerate wickedness. One of the main reasons for the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is to show that God will not tolerate wickedness forever. Eventually, when the outcry is bad enough, God will come and destroy the wicked.

God is kind. God showed kindness to Lot and his family by urging them to leave Sodom before the destruction of the city. He also showed kindness by allowing them to stay in a nearby small town rather than fleeing all the way to the mountains. This kindness was because of Lot’s righteousness as well as Abraham’s faithfulness.

God has urgency to fulfill his plan. Once God’s plan was firmly set to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, the two men, God’s angels, acted with urgency to get Lot and his family to leave Sodom so they could be spared. The moment they were safe, God rained down burning sulfur on the cities. When God tells you to obey, obey now!

God has power to destroy what he has created. When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, he not only destroyed the cities but all the people in them, the entire plain, and all the vegetation. He showed that he has the power to destroy anything.

God remembers those who are faithful to him. Despite God’s wrath raining down on Sodom and Gomorrah, he remembered those who were faithful to him. In particular, he remembered Abraham, which caused him to save Lot, Abraham’s nephew. If you are faithful to God, he will remember you in every situation.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People cry out to God when things are bad. The wickedness in Sodom and Gomorrah was so bad that people were crying out against them. We don’t even get a clear picture that these people were necessarily followers of God. But they were crying out to some greater power to save them from the evil in the hearts of the people in those cities.

People have the capacity for great evil. The people in Sodom and Gomorrah were so evil that it was affecting everyone around them. Even just the short story we read of their interaction with the two visitors shows how evil and self-centered they were. They were forceful in their wickedness and tried to impose their will on those around them.

People tend to bargain with God to get what they want. Abraham appealed to God’s sense of justice—for the righteous to be spared and the evil to be punished. He bargained with God to see what the minimum number of righteous people could be before God would save the cities. Although God agreed to the bargain, in the end, ultimately not even 10 righteous people could be found, and God’s plan prevailed.

People are nothing compared to God. When Abraham was bargaining with God, he stated that compared to God, he was nothing but dust and ashes. This sets up the contrast between God and man, but it also speaks to Abraham’s boldness to ask God for a favor. Even recognizing that he was nothing compared to God, he knew that God listens to those who are faithful to him and considers their requests.

People can be hospitable. When the two angels arrived in Sodom, Lot immediately took them in to save them from the evil people in the city. He prepared a meal for them and offered them a place to stay for the night. In the midst of all the evil, Lot was still good.

People often protect one thing at the expense of another. In this case, it’s more than just a “thing.” It’s people. Lot was willing to protect his two guests at the expense of his daughters. This doesn’t seem like a very honorable thing to do, but it seems that Lot was at the end of his options.

People often don’t believe the truth when they hear it. When Lot spoke to his sons-in-law to urge them to leave with the rest of the family, they refused. They thought he was joking. Even though it was truth, they didn’t believe him. The result was that they got left behind and were destroyed with the city. Don’t resist the truth for so long that you eventually end up being destroyed too.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah due to their wickedness. An outcry had reached God’s ears—the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were ultimately evil. Once God verified the accusations, he had plans to completely destroy Sodom and Gomorrah due to their wickedness.

God’s plan was to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if 10 righteous people could be found. In spite of God’s original plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, he decided to spare the cities if only 10 righteous people could be found. He made this decision after Abraham pleaded for them. Ultimately, 10 righteous people could not be found. In fact, it appears that only 4 righteous people could be found, and even that is questionable based on the rest of the Genesis 19.  

God’s plan was to protect Lot and his family from destruction. Regardless of the number of righteous people in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, God decided to rescue Lot and his family and save them from destruction. He did this because Abraham was faithful to him, and Abraham cared for Lot.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah emphasizes two opposite but complementary characteristics of God that are displayed throughout Scripture: God’s wrath against sin and his mercy and kindness toward the righteous. When God sees wickedness, he simply cannot tolerate it. We saw this on a large scale in the story of Noah and the flood, and here we see it on a small scale in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Bible reports many times when God sees wickedness or sin and steps in to punish those who do wrong.

On the flip side of God’s wrath against sin is his mercy and kindness toward the righteous, toward those who follow him. God was willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah, in spite of their wickedness, because Abraham pleaded with God. Abraham is God’s chosen one who will be the father of the nation that would be God’s holy people. God was also willing to spare Lot and his family due to his faithfulness to Abraham.

Throughout the Bible, we see this tug between God’s wrath and God’s mercy. Those who continue to live in sin and reject God will be the target of his wrath. But those who follow God and turn away from sin will be the recipients of God’s mercy. And in God’s justice and righteousness, he always knows which is which.

In God’s great mercy, he even did the unthinkable—he sent his son to pay the penalty for sin so that more people could receive his mercy and not face his wrath. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” What an amazing gift. God didn’t look at us and say, “Well, because they are righteous, I’ll send Jesus to die for them. They deserve it.” No, he looked at us and said, “They don’t deserve it. But I love them, so I’ll send Jesus to die for them anyway.” That is the height of God’s mercy and love for you.  

Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Genesis 19:30-38, Luke 17:20-37, 2 Peter 2:4-10a.

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 18-19 Resources

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Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 18 19

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*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.

Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.

Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.

Icebreaker: Have you ever been bullied by someone? How did you respond to it? Or have you ever been the bully? What were the underlying reasons for your actions?

All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.

Study

Read today’s passage: Genesis 16:1-16.

16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; ² so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. ³ So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. ⁴ He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”

⁶ “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

⁷ The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. ⁸ And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

⁹ Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” ¹⁰ The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”

¹¹ The angel of the Lord also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
    and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
    for the Lord has heard of your misery.
¹² He will be a wild donkey of a man;
    his hand will be against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
    toward all his brothers.”

¹³ She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” ¹⁴ That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

What is the context for this passage?

In last week’s lesson in Genesis 15, we learned that God re-confirmed his covenant with Abram to give Abram a son, to make him into a great nation, and to give him a land. Abram questioned how this can be since he has no children. He lamented that he’s going to have to give his entire estate to one of his servants instead. In a pretty dramatic scene with sacrificed animals laid out and a smoking firepot with a blazing torch passing between them, God made a covenant with Abram that he will have descendants. And even after all that, Abram still feels like he needs to take things into his own hands, as we see in today’s passage.

Read the passage again.

Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 16:1-16 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.

Try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Answer these three questions about the passage:

1.       What does the passage say about God?

God is in control of conception. As the creator of everything, God has control even of natural human functions such as conception. God can close wombs, and God can open them. God has a plan for his exact timing for conception for each person.

God is a judge. As the only one who is perfect and holy and righteous, God is the only one who has the right to judge people. Sarai knew that, and she asked God to judge between her and Abram for their respective parts in Hagar becoming pregnant.

God cares for all people. Even though Hagar was not part of the covenant that God made with Abram to make him into a great nation, when Hagar was treated poorly and ran away from Sarai, God sent an angel to comfort her and minister to her. God has a heart of compassion, especially for those who are treated poorly by others.

God sees his people. When Hagar spoke to the angel that God sent, she felt seen by God. No matter how significant (or insignificant) we think we are, God always sees us. He knows when we are troubled, he knows when we are mistreated, he knows when we are alone and scared. If you are going through a difficult time in your life, pray that you will feel seen by God. Because he does see you.

2.       What does the passage say about people?

People often blame God when something isn’t going their way. When Sarai continued to not get pregnant, she blamed God. God had sent this promise, and he wasn’t fulfilling it. It was his fault that she wasn’t having children. Her attitude of blame rather than acceptance and patience revealed the state of her heart.

People get impatient waiting for God to fulfill his promise. It had been 10 years since God first made his promise to give Abram a son. God made his initial promise when Abram was 75, and once Ishmael is born, he’s 86. Ten years is a long time to wait for a child, especially when you are well past when most people have children. Abram and Sarai got impatient and decided to take things into their own hands. How often are we like this? God’s timing is often not the same as our timing. What is God asking you to be patient about now?

Sometimes when people get what they wish for, it doesn’t end up as they imagined. Abram and Sarai wanted a son to be their heir and to fulfill God’s promise. And when they took steps to make it happen outside of God’s plan, they got exactly what they wanted. Hagar became pregnant. That’s when all the emotions came out. Hagar despised Sarai, and Sarai was jealous of Hagar. It created strife where there was no strife before.

People who are jealous will treat others badly. Sarai was jealous of Hagar’s pregnancy, so Sarai began to mistreat Hagar. This made Hagar flee from her home. Jealousy often brings out the worst in people. Sarai likely never thought of mistreating her servant before the pregnancy. But when those feelings of jealousy started, and sin entered her heart, she acted in ways that previously might have been against her character. Guard your heart against jealousy so it doesn’t turn you into someone you don’t want to be.

People who have encountered God have a change of heart. After Hagar fled her home to escape Sarai’s mistreatment, she encountered the angel of the Lord in the desert. She felt seen by God, and this changed her heart. She followed God’s command to return to Sarai and submit to her. This couldn’t have been easy for Hagar, but she did it anyway because she knew that God saw her circumstances and still cared for her.

3.       What does the passage say about God’s plan?

God’s plan was for Hagar to submit to Sarai. In spite of how Ishmael was conceived and how Hagar was mistreated, God still had a plan for Hagar and Ishmael. Part of that plan was for Hagar to go back home to Sarai and submit to her. This allowed Hagar and Ishmael to be cared for during the time that Ishmael was growing up.

God’s plan was to increase Hagar’s descendants. Although God’s covenant would be fulfilled through the birth of a son to Abram and Sarai, Hagar’s descendants were not completely left out of God’s promise. God promised to increase Hagar’s descendants until they were too numerous to count, just as he had promised Abram.

God’s plan was for Hagar’s descendants to live in hostility with others. Although Hagar’s descendants would be numerous just as Abram’s would be, the promise for Hagar’s descendants was not as favorable as for Abram’s. While God would make Abram’s descendants into a great and favored nation, Hagar’s descendants would live in hostility with those around them. This is the result of working outside of God’s will.

How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?

Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.

This passage shows us the distinct contrast between those who are God’s chosen people and those who are not. For those who are not part of God’s covenant people, God still cares for them, sees them, and has a plan for them, but that plan is not quite the same as the people under his covenant. For those who are his chosen people, he has a better plan for them, even if that plan requires patience to come to fulfillment.

This contrast continues under the new covenant seen in the New Testament after the death and resurrection of Christ. Under the new covenant, the people who follow Christ may have troubles and afflictions on this earth, but they have a heavenly eternal reward that is worth any persecution on earth. Those who do not follow Christ are still under God’s rule—he still sees them and cares for them, and he still has a plan for them. He waits patiently for them to turn to him (2 Peter 3:8-9). But if they do not, God’s plan does not include eternal rewards. Instead, it includes hostility, destruction, and an eternity separated from God. Which side do you want to be on? Under the new covenant, it’s your choice to make.

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Discussion

Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.

Group: Pose these questions for discussion.

All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.

Leave a comment

What else strikes you about this passage?

How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?

How does this passage affect how you will live your life?

Additional Study

For additional study related to this topic, read Genesis 25:12-18, Galatians 4:21-31.

Bible Essentials: Set 3, Lesson 13

In Genesis 16, Ishmael is born when Abram is 86. By Genesis 17, Abram is now 99, and he still has no son with Sarai. But God appears to Abram again and confirms his covenant again, adding the practice of circumcision to it. In the process, God changes Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah. God tells Abraham that Sarah will bear a son, and Abraham laughs at the idea. But God is firm: Sarah will have a son, and he will be the one through whom the covenant will be fulfilled.

Grounded in the Bible

Genesis 17:1-27: God's Covenant

Opening Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have. Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises…

Read more

5 years ago · Karen Hoffman

Premium Resources

For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.

If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.

You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 16 Resources

Or you can download the journal sheets here*:

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Individual Genesis 16

370KB ∙ PDF file

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Download

Bible Essentials Journal Sheet Group Genesis 16

372KB ∙ PDF file

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*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.