The Lord made a wonderful promise when He appeared to Jacob at Bethel: “I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Genesis 28.15). God would be true to His... Continue Reading →

James exhorts us to “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2–4, ESV). Fact is that the people of God... Continue Reading →

As noted in our last lesson, Jacob was not a young man by this time in the narrative. He had lived over seventy years and had by his own means secured both the birthright from his brother and the family blessing from his father. Yet, in reality he had secured nothing. And so this chapter... Continue Reading →

While the story of Abraham dominates the first half of Genesis, the central figure of the second half is Jacob. Significantly, the man whose name would be changed to Israel (he strives with God) came into this world with a name which could be translated as “supplanter” or “he cheats”. The text records the astounding... Continue Reading →

The birth of Isaac was central to the story of Abraham. This great man of faith (Genesis 15.6) would learn to put even more trust in God as he waited for the promised heir (Genesis 17.15-19) and as he was required to offer Isaac back to God (Genesis 22). However, for all of the buildup... Continue Reading →

When the Lord declared to Abraham that Sarah would bear a child and that they would name him Isaac, He promised to “establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him” (Genesis 17.19). The promised heir, Isaac, was born in chapter 21, but their to be offspring after him would... Continue Reading →

In our study of Abraham much of our focus has been on the promised offspring, and for good reason. The lack of offspring would test the faith of Abraham and Sarah (see Genesis 15.2; 16.2; etc.), the promised offspring would come in God’s way and in His time (Genesis 17.18-19; 18.14), and most importantly, the... Continue Reading →

The story of Abraham revolves around the promise of an heir. God’s call of Abram included the promise of offspring; offspring that would become a great nation and that would ultimately bless all families of the earth (Genesis 12.1-3). The delay of the promised heir would test the faith of both Abraham and Sarah (Genesis... Continue Reading →

The Hebrew author urged Christians to “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23, ESV) The story of the Bible is the story of God being faithful to His promises and Genesis 21 stands as testimony not only to God’s promises to Abraham (Genesis... Continue Reading →

Chapter 20 sticks out like a sore thumb. In our study we’ve seen Abraham and Sarah struggle with their faith before (lying about Sarai in Genesis 12, securing an heir from Hagar in Genesis 16), but in the last few chapters the faith of Abraham has shone through. He responded with joy at the announcement... Continue Reading →