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Genesis study 7 - Chapter 12
This is the final study in the Genesis series, and a look at how some of the themes of Genesis run through the Bible. This is not supposed to be exhaustive - just a sketch: Abraham's life, the time of Moses and entering the promised land of Canaan, slight mention of David, the captivity into Babylon, the time of Jesus, what it means for Christians today.
Read Genesis 12: 1-9
- Make a list of all the things Abraham would have expected to happen following God's announcements to him.
- What initial evidence is there for any of these things happening?
- What initial evidence is there that seems stacked against these promises coming about?
- What happens to all these promises? As a group (or on your own) try to put together some picture of what happened over the years - using very broad brushstrokes from Abraham to the NT - perhaps work on the following three promises as they are the most obvious:
- the land of Canaan
- being the start of a great nation
- the one through whom all the peoples of the world would be blessed.
You could work through each one in stages (below are some guidelines you could use):
The land
- What happened by the time of Abraham's death? (about 18th century BC)
- When did the people possess the land?
- Did they stay in possession of the land?
- What was the situation at the time of Jesus?
- What is the situation today?
- How does the New Testament talk about the homeland of Christians?
The beginning of a great nation
- What happens to Abraham's descendants?
- What is the situation at the time of Jesus?
- How does the New Testament talk about the greatness of the descendants Abraham?
- How are all the peoples of the earth blessed through Abraham?
- How does the New Testament talk about this blessing to all peoples?
- Currently you are perhaps sitting in someone's lounge room in Sydney with a small group of Christians. How do God's promises to Abraham impact on how you understand yourself and the group of people you are with?
- What aspects of God's character have struck you through the study tonight? Take time to praise and thank Him for what He is like.
Notes for this study
1. What Abraham would have expected:
- his offspring would gain the land of Canaan
- he would be the beginning of a great nation
- his name would become great
- he would be a blessing to others
- God will respond to people according to how they treat Abraham
- all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through him.
2. Initial evidence for this happening:
- Abraham gets to travel to the land of Canaan
- He seems to already have a pretty large contingent of possessions and people v5.
3. Evidence ‘against’ this happening:
- The Canaanites are in the land v6
- Abraham is already fairly old v4
- Refer back to 11:30 - A telling aside - Sarai is barren - she had no children.
4. The land
- What happened by the time of Abraham's death? (about 18th century BC) - Genesis 25:9-10 - he was buried in a field he had bought from a Hittite - he didn't possess any other land of his own.
- When did the people possess the land - after Moses, led in by Joshua - more than 400 years after Abraham; they finally secured the land under David - about 1000 BC
- Did they stay in possession of the land? - conquered by the Babylonians who took them off into exile. So lost their land in 586 BC.
- What was the situation at the time of Jesus? The Romans were in charge of their land.
- What is the situation today? The Jews regained political independence in 1948 - and have been struggling to reestablish themselves since then.
- How does the New Testament talk about the homeland of Christians? Hebrews 11:16 speaks of the descendants of Abraham who are living by faith - their homeland is heaven - where God is preparing a city for them. Phil 3:20 - our citizenship is heaven.
The beginning of a great nation
- What happens to Abraham's descendants? Abraham's son was Isaac - he had two sons Esau and Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons - who are known as the patriarchs of the Jewish nation (Joseph is one of these sons). By the time we get to Moses - the descendants of these 12 sons had become numerous - Ex 1:6-7. There are 12 tribes of people in the promised land of Canaan. But when the Babylonians conquer their land, the people are taken off to Babylon as captives - they really cease to be a nation in their own right.
- What is the situation at the time of Jesus? - they are a conquered nation - not a particularly great one!
- How does the New Testament talk about the greatness of the descendants Abraham? Romans 4: 16-17 - all who come to God in faith are the descendants of Abraham in the sight of God. Our greatness lies in the fact that, through Christ, we belong to the God who gives life to the dead.
- How are all the peoples of the earth blessed through Abraham? There are occasional references to people being blessed as they came into contact with the Jews - eg Rabab who escapes from the destruction of Jericho. However this vision of blessing is really lost as the Jewish people became more concerned about their own survival. However, this promise of God is not completely forgotten in the hopes of the prophets for the future - eg Isa 49:6 - God's desire was to bring salvation to the whole earth.
- How does the New Testament talk about this blessing to all peoples? 24:47 - the message of forgiveness through Jesus is to be preached to all nations. Eph 2: 12-13 - those far off from God's promises, the Gentiles, have now been brought near to God through Christ. Rev 7:9 - those from every nation and people will stand before God in heaven and worship him.
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