Module 3: Covenant Family Established (Genesis 12-50)
- Covenant with the Patriarchs (overview)
In the Text
Genesis 1-11 and “the rest of the story”
Promises for the journey (Gen 12:1-7ff)
Blessing, name, descendants, land, royalty
“Election”
“Promise” (oath)
“Covenant” (Gen 15ff)
Continuity
Covenant
New Creation
Behind the Text
Historical setting: Middle Bronze Age
Land grants (Gen 15, 17)
Covenant “cutting” (Gen 15, 17)
In Front of the Text
Divine choice
“Mission”
“Blessing”
Divine promise
“Progressive revelation”
- Abraham, Part 1: Living by Faith (Genesis 12-25)
In the Text
Stories of Abraham/Sarah and Isaac – and Ishmael (Gen 12:1-25:11)
12. Covenant promises made
12. Travel to Egypt (famine); calls Sarah sister (gifts given)
13. Abraham and Lot divide land
14. Abraham rescues Lot; gift to Melchizedek
15. Covenant ceremony; emphasis on land
16. Ishmael born; Hagar flees
17. Covenant restated for Isaac/descendants with circumcision as sign
18. Angels visit and promise a son
18. Abraham’s intercession for Sodom and Gomorrah
19. Judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah (Lot’s incest)
20. Abraham calls Sarah sister at Gerar (gifts given)
21. Isaac born; Hagar driven away
22. Abraham tested to offer Isaac; covenant reaffirmed
23. Sarah dies; Abraham buys a plot
24. Bride for Isaac from Aram
25. Abraham dies
Themes:
Covenant restatements/renewals and signs
Son (promise of seed)
Sojourning (promise of land)
Faith and faithlessness
Interpretation: Tracing a theme
In Front of the Text
Abraham’s faith (Rom 4; 9:8; Gal 3; Heb 11:8-19)… and faithlessness
Trusting while waiting
Serving while waiting
- Abraham, Part 2: Living by Faith (Genesis 12-25)
Behind the Text
Patriarchal culture and religion
Patrilineal
Patrilocal
Pastoral
Polygamous
Pagan
Immorality (Amorites, Sodom/Gomorrah)
Idolatry (Gen 31:19; Josh 24:2, 14)
Child sacrifice (cf Gen 22)
On leaving father, home and gods…
Interpretation: Using imagination, personal experience and empathy
In Front of the Text
Living by faith
Identity (Deut 26:5; Heb 11:8)
Insurance
Linking to God’s bigger plan
Jerusalem: Melchizedek (Heb 7), God’s beloved son, Mt Moriah
The Amorites (Gen 15:13-16)
4. Jacob: Deceived Deceiver (Genesis 25-36)
In the Text
Stories of Jacob and Esau (Gen 25:11-36:42)
25. Jacob and Esau born (after 20 years)
26. Travel to Gerar (famine); Isaac calls Rebekah sister; fights over wells
27. Jacob steals 1st born blessing
28. Jacob sent to Laban (father-in-law) for wife; dream at Bethel
29. Jacob marries Leah and Rachel (after Laban’s trick)
30. Leah & Rachel (after waiting) bear children; Jacob multiplies flocks
31. Jacob flees Laban; confrontation and covenant
32. Jacob wrestles with angel and given name “Israel” (turning point)
32-33. Jacob reconciles with Esau
34. Rape of Dinah; revenge by Simeon and Levi
35. Return to Bethel; another altar; another theophany
35. Rachel dies in childbirth; Isaac dies
36. Esau’s genealogy
Themes
Covenant restatement/renewal with each generation
Family resemblance
Deceived deceiver
“Israel” (Gen 32:28)
Transformation
2 wives, 1 daughter and 12 sons
The blood line and the story line
Covenants with the non-elect
Behind the Text
“Holy land”: Shechem, Bethel, [Jerusalem], Hebron, Beer Sheva
Penial
In Front of the Text
Unlikely (and unrighteous) divine choices
The identity of “Israel”
- Joseph: Faithful steward (Genesis 37-50)
In the Text
Stories of Joseph
37. Dreamer becomes slave
[38. Judah and Tamar]
39. From Potiphar’s house to the prison
40. Dreams of cup-bearer and baker
41. Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams; promotion
42-44. Joseph’s brothers’ trips to Egypt; Joseph’s deception
45. Joseph reveals his identity
46-47. Israel/Jacob moves to Goshen
48. Israel blesses Joseph’s two sons (Ephraim over Manasseh)
49. Israel blesses his 12 sons
50. Joseph reassures brothers and dies.
Themes
Sojourning
Benjamin
Judah (Gen 49:10)
The promises are alive
God’s sovereignty (Gen 45:7; 50:20)
Interpretation: Foreshadow
Behind the Text
Asiatics in Egypt
Famines
Joseph’s granaries
In Front of the Text
God’s sovereignty and human faithfulness
Divine election and human responsibility
- The Conclusion of Genesis
In the Text
The patriarchal stories
Common themes
Covenant/blessing, faith/faithlessness, elect/non-elect sons
Joseph and the promises:
Seed survives, blessing to nations, royalty announced, land anticipated (burial)
Genesis: Global interest with family focus
Saving lives (Gen 45:5: 50:20)
70 nations (Gen 10) > 70 descendants (Gen 46:26-27)
“These are the generations of…”
Abraham and the meta-narrative of the Old Testament
Interpretation: Narrative Onionskins
Behind the Text
The map
The timeline
In Front of the Text
Linking to the Divine Drama: Our ancestors, our story