The Open Word

After Joseph determined that his brothers had changed over the past twenty years, and they were now ready to do anything to protect Benjamin, he finally reveals his identity to them. Instead of exacting revenge, Joseph pleaded with them to get his father and come to Egypt where he could care for his brothers, his father, and their families.

Having been elevated to prime minister of Egypt, Genesis 43–44 records Joseph's brothers traveling to Egypt for food. Testing them, Joseph discovers that whereas they once sold him with no second thought, they now beg him to allow Benjamin to return home. Judah, one of the instigators of Joseph's sale into captivity, now offers to take the place of Benjamin. 

Genesis 41–42 records Joseph's rise to Pharaoh's second-in-command. After Pharaoh's dream regarding seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine, and Joseph's subsequent interpretations of the dream, Joseph is elevated over all of Egypt. After the seven years of plenty, famine does hit, and in Genesis 41 we find Joseph's brothers traveling to Egypt for grain.

We continue our examination of the life of Joseph. Genesis 39–40 records Joseph's life in the household of Potiphar, the false accusation by Potiphar's wife, his subsequent imprisonment, and how he interpreted the dreams of the baker and cup-bearer.

Genesis 37–38 record two separate incidents. The first introduces Joseph, the main character in the remaining chapters of Genesis. In Chapter 37, Joseph recounts his dreams, causing his brothers to sell him into slavery in Egypt. In Chapter 38, we have the account of Judah's incest with Tamar in which she bore Zerah, and Perez through whom the Messianic line ran.

Genesis 34 records the rape of Dinah by Hamor the Hivite and the subsequent slaughter of all the men of Shechem. Levi and Simeon, the perpetrators of the slaughter, lost their privileges as the second and third son of Judah because of this, making Judah the one through whom the Messianic line would descend (as Reuben was disqualified due to incest). This causes Jacob to return to Bethel, then to E...

Genesis 32–33 chronicles Jacob's return to Canaan. On the way, he meets the Angel of the Lord, wrestles all night, and receives a blessing and a new name. He also meets up with Esau, who in the meantime became a wealthy individual himself.

We continue our discussion of Jacob and Laban. Jacob found himself working twenty years for his uncle, during which time he married two of Laban's daughters, had several sons, and increased in wealth. At the end of that time, Yahweh appeared to Jacob instructing him it was time to return to Canaan, the land of promise. 

Jacob, fleeing his brother's wrath, makes his way north to Padan-Aram to stay with his uncle Laban. On his way, he has his dream of a ladder to heaven, and a confirmation from Yahweh that he is the one through whom the Abrahamic Covenant will flow. Jacob, know as a conniver, meets his equal in Laban, a conniver himself, who tricks Jacob into marrying Leah over Rachel, who bore him four sons: Reube...

In this session, we pick up the account of Jacob and Esau. Since Esau was the oldest, the blessing of the firstborn would normally belong to him. However, with Rebekah's help, Jacob was able to trick Isaac into giving him the blessing of the firstborn. This subterfuge so enraged Esau that he vowed to kill Jacob after Isaac's death, which prompted Rebekah to send Jacob to Padan-Aram to her brother...

Genesis 25–26 covers the life of Isaac and Rebekah. We read of the death of Abraham, the birth of Jacob and Esau, and Isaac's sojourn in Gerar. Interestingly, the life of Isaac is only recorded in three chapters in Genesis, which makes him the least known of the three Patriarchs. However, the Bible sees him as a man of faith, and the link between Abraham and Jacob.

Genesis 24 contains the account of Abraham obtaining a wife for his son Isaac. Unlike Ishmael, Abraham desired that Isaac have a son from their kindred, not from the land as was the case with Ishmael. As a result, he sends his oldest servant, who many believe to be Eliezer, back to where Abraham's brother, Nahor, lived to find a wife from his family.

In Genesis 24 we find a shift from Abraham as the main character to Isaac. Of all three of the patriarchs, we know the least about Isaac. Nevertheless, he was the bridge from Abraham to Jacob, and the conduit through which passed the Abrahamic blessing.

In Genesis 22 we find the account of Abraham's test of faith where he is told be Yahweh to offer Isaac on an altar as a sacrifice to Him. This was not because Yahweh did not know about Abraham's faith, but instead that Abraham would know of his faith. Of course, Yahweh spared Isaac, providing a lamb instead as a picture of Christ's substitutionary atonement for all humanity.

Genesis 20 records the background of the birth of Isaac. Due to a severe famine in the land, Abraham travels to Gerar where he encounters Abimelech, the king of Gerar. In order to cement a marriage alliance, Abimelech seeks to marry Sarah, as Abraham said she was his sister and not wife. God had to intervene, again, showing that even when we make a mess of things, He ensures things work out.

Genesis 18–19 records the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah along with the story of Lot and his family. Although Lot was what the Bible calls a righteous man, he is a prime example of what happens to oneself, and one's family, when exposed to a wicked culture.

In Genesis 17, when Abraham was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him to reaffirm His covenant with Abraham. This reaffirmation concerned both the promise of a land, and the promise of an heir from the union of Abraham and Sarah. Additionally, the sign of circumcision was given to Abraham at this time, a ritual that every Jewish male had to have performed in order to be part of God's covenant peo...

In Genesis 16, we find the account of the birth of Ishmael. Although Abraham is a man of faith, God's delay in providing an heir resulted in Abraham and Sarah taking things into their own hands. Using a legal option in that time, Sarah designated Hagar to have a child in her name. Ishmael was born when Abraham was about 86 years old, and is the father of the Arabic nations. The conflict between th...

In Genesis 14, we are introduced to Melchizedek, one of the more mysterious figures in the Old Testament. He blessed Abraham upon his return from rescuing Lot, and later he is seen as a type of Christ's priesthood in Psalm 110, and Hebrews 5 and 7.

In this session, we examine Genesis 12–13 in which we find the account of Abraham's journey to Canaan, his sojourn in Egypt, his return to the land, and his separation from Lot.

Starting in Genesis 11:27, the focus shifts from humanity in general to Abraham. After a brief introduction on the family tree of Abraham, Genesis 12 begins with his call while in Ur of the Chaldees in which Yahweh tells him to leave his father's homeland and go to a "land which I will show you." This general description of an undefined land will become more and more defined in subsequent chapters...

Genesis 11:10–26 records the generations from Shem to the time of Abraham. What is interesting to observe is that Shem was alive during a significant time of Abraham's life. This would have allowed Abraham to have known Shem and been familiar with life before the flood.

We now turn our attention to Genesis 11, in which we find the account of the Tower of Babel. This occurred about four generations from Noah, when humanity most likely numbered between one and two thousand people. Instead of spreading out over the earth, humanity decided to stay together until God scattered them by confusing the languages. Also, Genesis 11 contains the generations from Noah to Abra...

We examine Genesis 10 which lists the various nations and people groups that descended from Noah. These nations and people groups are seen throughout the Old Testament, and it is interesting and instructive to see how humanity spread out after the flood.

We now come to Genesis 9 and the end of the flood. Disembarking from the ark, Noah and his family were faced with a completely new world, unlike the one that existed just a little over a year earlier. Everything they knew, and everyone they knew, no longer existed, and now it was time for them to repopulate the world.