1: God and the World (Genesis 1-11)
Form / Fall / Flood / Flow

For man so hates the Lord that he’s a slave to his only begotten sin.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.

2: God and Israel (Genesis 12- 50)
Abram / Isaac / Jacob / Joseph

God saves His people through His people; and then through His people, He saves people.

1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…

Genesis 12:1-3
Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 35:10
And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel.

The new name brings a new nature.

Genesis 35:11-12
11 Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. 12 The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.”

God’s faithfulness is covenantal, not contractual.

Genesis 37:1-2
Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.

Integrity often threatens those who lack it.

Genesis 37:3-4
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

Genesis 37:5-8
Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

Genesis 37:9
9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

Genesis 37:10-11
10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Spiritual maturity doesn’t develop over time but over trial.

Discussion Questions

1. What are the two large narratives of Genesis? What do each of these narratives point to in a greater way?

2. In Genesis 12:1-3, we see the hinge between the two narratives. What does this promise to Abram tell us about God’s faithfulness? (Hint: Contractual vs Covenantal)

3. As Genesis 37:1-2 unfolds, what do we learn about Joseph’s position in relation to his brothers? What can we make of this “bad report” he brought to his father? How does integrity and accountability to God cause contention with others? (See John 8:42-47)

4. Discuss Joseph’s dreams from verses 5-9. We may be getting ahead of ourselves here, but how do these “pictures” preview the plotline of the narrative of Joseph?

5. And considering Joseph only saw the preferment and exaltation in his dreams, what does Scripture tell us precedes such honor or glory? (See Proverbs 18:12; Romans 5:1-5)

6. Even Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8), so what do trials have to do with the development of character and spiritual maturity? (See James 1:2-4)