1. Bible Study – He/She/The Devil Made Me Do It: Blame and Revenge.

    In your group (and as appropriate for your group) share:

    The best thing that happened to you this week

   1. The worst thing that happened to you this week
   2. A time in the last week you saw God at work in our community or in another person

   Read the passage below.

   1. Hmm…. Who in his family tree does Joseph take after?
   2. Whose fault is it that Joseph ends up in an Egyptian prison?
   3. Is anybody being punished here? Is the right person being punished? 
   4. What dysfunctional family dynamics can you identify?
   5. What would Jesus do in these situations:
      1. The dreamer reporting the dreams
      2. The brothers planning to kill Joseph
      3. Mrs. Potiphar’s behavior
      4. What is the place of blame, plotting, and revenge in a health spiritual life?
      5. What impact does all this behavior have on God?

   Take a minute to pray together. Bless one another.  What does “the blessing” mean to you?

   ( You can just say, “May the Lord bless you and keep you.”  No need to steal a blessing!)

   Genesis 37   The Dreamer

    ⁵One day, Joseph told his brothers what he had dreamed, and they hated him even more. ⁶Joseph said, “Let me tell you about my dream. ⁷We were out in the field, tying up bundles of wheat. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles gathered around and bowed down to it.”

       ⁸His brothers asked, “Do you really think you are going to be king and rule over us?” Now they hated Joseph more than ever because of what he had said about his dream.

       ⁹Joseph later had another dream, and he told his brothers, “Listen to what else I dreamed. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me.”

       ¹⁰When he told his father about this dream, his father became angry and said, “What’s that supposed to mean? Are your mother and I and your brothers all going to come and bow down in front of you?” ¹¹Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept wondering about the dream.

   Joseph left and found his brothers in Dothan. ¹⁸But before he got there, they saw him coming and made plans to kill him. ¹⁹They said to one another, “Look, here comes the hero of those dreams! ²⁰Let’s kill him and throw him into a pit and say that some wild animal ate him. Then we’ll see what happens to those dreams.”

   Genesis 39: Here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson.

   ¹The Ishmaelites took Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, the king’s ^[v] official in charge of the palace guard. ^2-3So Joseph lived in the home of Potiphar, his Egyptian owner. Soon Potiphar realized that the LORD was helping Joseph to be successful in whatever he did. ⁴Potiphar liked Joseph and made him his personal assistant, putting him in charge of his house and all of his property. ⁵Because of Joseph, the LORD began to bless Potiphar’s family and fields. ⁶Potiphar left everything up to Joseph, and with Joseph there, the only decision he had to make was what he wanted to eat.

      Joseph was well-built and handsome, ⁷and Potiphar’s wife soon noticed him. She asked him to make love to her, ⁸but he refused and said, “My master isn’t worried about anything in his house, because he has placed me in charge of everything he owns. ⁹No one in my master’s house is more important than I am. The only thing he hasn’t given me is you, and that’s because you are his wife. I won’t sin against God by doing such a terrible thing as this.” ¹⁰She kept begging Joseph day after day, but he refused to do what she wanted or even to go near her.

       ¹¹One day, Joseph went to Potiphar’s house to do his work, and none of the other servants were there. ¹²Potiphar’s wife grabbed hold of his coat and said, “Make love to me!” Joseph ran out of the house, leaving her hanging onto his coat.

       ¹³When this happened, ¹⁴she called in her servants and said, “Look! This Hebrew has come just to make fools of us. He tried to rape me, but I screamed for help. ¹⁵And when he heard me scream, he ran out of the house, leaving his coat with me.”

       ¹⁶Potiphar’s wife kept Joseph’s coat until her husband came home. ¹⁷Then she said, “That Hebrew slave of yours tried to rape me! ¹⁸But when I screamed for help, he left his coat and ran out of the house.”

       ¹⁹Potiphar became very angry ²⁰and threw Joseph in the same prison where the king’s prisoners were kept.

    

In your group (and as appropriate for your group) share:

1. The best thing that happened to you this week
2. The worst thing that happened to you this week
3. A time in the last week you saw God at work in our community or in another person

Read the passage below.

1. Do you have brothers or sisters?  Have you ever regretted something you did to them?
2. What is the dominant emotion in this story?
3. What is controlling Jacob’s actions?
4. Why do you think Joseph spoke through an interpreter and tricked his brothers?
5. What do you think of Reuben’s interpretation of events? What could he do to fix the problem?

Take a minute to pray together. Bless one another.  What does “the blessing” mean to you?

( You can just say, “May the Lord bless you and keep you.”  No need to steal a blessing!)

Genesis 42

Brothers Go to Egypt To Buy Grain

 ¹When Jacob found out there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you just sitting here, staring at one another? ²I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Now go down and buy some, so we won’t starve to death.”

    ³Ten of Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt to buy grain. ⁴But Jacob did not send Joseph’s younger brother Benjamin with them; he was afraid that something might happen to him. ⁵So Jacob’s sons joined others from Canaan who were going to Egypt because of the terrible famine.

    ⁶Since Joseph was governor of Egypt and in charge of selling grain, his brothers came to him and bowed with their faces to the ground. ^7-8They did not recognize Joseph, but right away he knew who they were, though he pretended not to know. Instead, he spoke harshly and asked, “Where do you come from?”

   ”From the land of Canaan,” they answered. “We’ve come here to buy grain.”

    ⁹Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about them and said, “You’re spies! You’ve come here to find out where our country is weak.”

    ¹⁰“No sir,” they replied. “We’re your servants, and we have only come to buy grain. ¹¹We’re honest men, and we come from the same family–we’re not spies.”

    ¹²“That isn’t so!” Joseph insisted. “You’ve come here to find out where our country is weak.”

    ¹³But they explained, “Sir, we come from a family of twelve brothers. The youngest is still with our father in Canaan, and one of our brothers is dead.”

    ¹⁴Joseph replied:

   It’s just like I said. You’re spies, ¹⁵and I’m going to find out who you really are. I swear by the life of the king that you won’t leave this place until your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶Choose one of you to go after your brother, while the rest of you stay here in jail. That will show whether you are telling the truth. But if you are lying, I swear by the life of the king that you are spies!

    ¹⁷Joseph kept them all under guard for three days, ¹⁸before saying to them:

   Since I respect God, I’ll give you a chance to save your lives. ¹⁹If you are honest men, one of you must stay here in jail, and the rest of you can take the grain back to your starving families. ²⁰But you must bring your youngest brother to me. Then I’ll know that you are telling the truth, and you won’t be put to death.

   Joseph’s brothers agreed ²¹and said to one another, “We’re being punished because of Joseph. We saw the trouble he was in, but we refused to help him when he begged us. That’s why these terrible things are happening.”

    ²²Reuben spoke up, “Didn’t I tell you not to harm the boy? But you wouldn’t listen, and now we have to pay the price for killing him.”

    ²³They did not know that Joseph could understand them, since he was speaking through an interpreter. ²⁴Joseph turned away from them and cried, but soon he turned back and spoke to them again. Then he had Simeon tied up and taken away while they watched.

    Joseph’s Brothers Return to Canaan

 ²⁵Joseph gave orders for his brothers’ grain sacks to be filled with grain and for their money ^[ad] to be put in their sacks. He also gave orders for them to be given food for their journey home. After this was done, ²⁶they each loaded the grain on their donkeys and left. ²⁷When they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to get some grain for his donkey, and right away he saw his moneybag. ²⁸“Here’s my money!” he told his brothers. “Right here in my sack.”

   They were trembling with fear as they stared at one another and asked themselves, “What has God done to us?”

    ²⁹When they returned to the land of Canaan, they told their father Jacob everything that had happened to them:

    ³⁰The governor of Egypt was rude and treated us like spies. ³¹But we told him, “We’re honest men, not spies. ³²We come from a family of twelve brothers. The youngest is still with our father in Canaan, and the other is dead.”

    ³³Then the governor of Egypt told us, “I’ll find out if you really are honest. Leave one of your brothers here with me, while you take the grain to your starving families. ³⁴But bring your youngest brother to me, so I can be certain that you are honest men and not spies. After that, I’ll let your other brother go free, and you can stay here and trade.”

    ³⁵When the brothers started emptying their sacks of grain, they found their moneybags in them. They were frightened, and so was their father Jacob, ³⁶who said, “You have already taken my sons Joseph and Simeon from me. And now you want to take away Benjamin! Everything is against me.”

    ³⁷Reuben spoke up, “Father, if I don’t bring Benjamin back, you can kill both of my sons. Trust me with him, and I will bring him back.”

    ³⁸But Jacob said, “I won’t let my son Benjamin go down to Egypt with the rest of you. His brother is already dead, and he is the only son I have left. ^[ae] I am an old man, and if anything happens to him on the way, I’ll die from sorrow, and all of you will be to blame.”

Caution: This is not from the Children’s Bible editon! Family Devotions Leaders should preview this material and decide if it is appropriate for younger family members.
Bible Study – Jacob and the Desperate Housewives (Rated R)

In your group (and as appropriate for your group) share:

1. The best thing that happened to you this week
2. The worst thing that happened to you this week
3. A time in the last week you saw God at work in our community or in another person
Read the passage below.
1. Is there anything about your own life that resonates with this story? What is it? (This is a tongue-in cheek question! – the other groups are using it with less racy stories.)
2. What do you think of the people in this story – who should receive the blessing?
3. An “etiology” is a form of narrative that explains the origin of something, such the name of a place or people group. Where do you see etiologies in this story?
4. If you were in God’s place, what would you do?
Take a minute to pray together. Bless one another. What does “the blessing” mean to you?
( You can just say, “May the Lord bless you and keep you.” No need to steal a blessing!)
_____________________________________________________________________________
Gen. 29-30
1As Jacob continued on his way to the east, 2he looked out in a field and saw a well where shepherds took their sheep for water. Three flocks of sheep were lying around the well, which was covered with a large rock. 3Shepherds would roll the rock away when all their sheep had gathered there. Then after the sheep had been watered, the shepherds would roll the rock back over the mouth of the well.
Jacob asked the shepherds, “Where are you from?” “We’re from Haran,” they answered. 5Then he asked, “Do you know Nahor’s grandson Laban?” “Yes we do,” they replied. 6″How is he?” Jacob asked. “He’s fine,” they answered. “And here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.”
7Jacob told them, “Look, the sun is still high up in the sky, and it’s too early to bring in the rest of the flocks. Water your sheep and take them back to the pasture.” 8But they replied, “We can’t do that until they all get here, and the rock has been rolled away from the well.”
9While Jacob was still talking with the men, his cousin Rachel came up with her father’s sheep. 10When Jacob saw her and his uncle’s sheep, he rolled the rock away and watered the sheep. 11He then kissed Rachel and started crying because he was so happy. 12He told her that he was the son of her aunt Rebekah, and she ran and told her father about him. 13As soon as Laban heard the news, he ran out to meet Jacob. He hugged and kissed him and brought him to his home, where Jacob told him everything that had happened. 14Laban said, “You are my nephew, and you are like one of my own family.”
After Jacob had been there for a month, 15Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t have to work without pay, just because you are a relative of mine. What do you want me to give you?”
16-17Laban had two daughters. Leah was older than Rachel, but her eyes didn’t sparkle, [y] while Rachel was beautiful and had a good figure. 18Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he answered, “If you will let me marry Rachel, I’ll work seven years for you.” 19Laban replied, “It’s better for me to let you marry Rachel than for someone else to have her. So stay and work for me.” 20Jacob worked seven years for Laban, but the time seemed like only a few days, because he loved Rachel so much.
21Jacob said to Laban, “The time is up, and I want to marry Rachel now!” 22So Laban gave a big feast and invited all their neighbors. 23But that evening he brought Leah to Jacob, who married her and spent the night with her. 24Laban also gave Zilpah to Leah as her servant woman.
25The next morning Jacob found out that he had married Leah, and he asked Laban, “Why did you do this to me? Didn’t I work to get Rachel? Why did you trick me?”
26Laban replied, “In our country the older daughter must get married first. 27After you spend this week [z] with Leah, you may also marry Rachel. But you will have to work for me another seven years.” 28-30At the end of the week of celebration, Laban let Jacob marry Rachel, and he gave her his servant woman Bilhah. Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah, but he had to work another seven years for Laban.
31The LORD knew that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah, and so he gave children to Leah, but not to Rachel. 32Leah gave birth to a son and named him Reuben, [aa] because she said, “The LORD has taken away my sorrow. Now my husband will love me more than he does Rachel.” 33She had a second son and named him Simeon, [ab] because she said, “The LORD has heard that my husband doesn’t love me.” 34When Leah’s third son was born, she said, “Now my husband will hold me close.” So this son was named Levi. [ac] 35She had one more son and named him Judah, [ad] because she said, “I’ll praise the LORD!”
1Rachel was very jealous of Leah for having children, and she said to Jacob, “I’ll die if you don’t give me some children!” 2But Jacob became upset with Rachel and answered, “Don’t blame me! I’m not God.” 3″Here, take my servant Bilhah,” Rachel told him. “Have children by her, and I’ll let them be born on my knees to show that they are mine.”
4Then Rachel let Jacob marry Bilhah, 5and they had a son. 6Rachel named him Dan, [ae] because she said, “God has answered my prayers. He has judged me and given me a son.” 7When Bilhah and Jacob had a second son, 8Rachel said, “I’ve struggled hard with my sister, and I’ve won!” So she named the boy Naphtali. [af] 9When Leah realized she could not have any more children, she let Jacob marry her servant Zilpah, 10and they had a son. 11″I’m really lucky,” Leah said, and she named the boy Gad. [ag] 12When they had another son, 13Leah exclaimed, “I’m happy now, and all the women will say how happy I am.” So she named him Asher. [ah]
Love Flowers
14During the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben found some love flowers [ai] and took them to his mother Leah. Rachel asked Leah for some of them, 15but Leah said, “It’s bad enough that you stole my husband! Now you want my son’s love flowers too.” “All right,” Rachel answered. “Let me have the flowers, and you can sleep with Jacob tonight.”
16That evening when Jacob came in from the fields, Leah told him, “You’re sleeping with me tonight. I hired you with my son’s love flowers.” They slept together that night, 17and God answered Leah’s prayers by giving her a fifth son. 18Leah shouted, “God has rewarded me for letting Jacob marry my servant,” and she named the boy Issachar. [aj] 19When Leah had another son, 20she exclaimed, “God has given me a wonderful gift, and my husband will praise me for giving him six sons.” So she named the boy Zebulun. [ak] 21Later, Leah had a daughter and named her Dinah. 22-23Finally, God remembered Rachel–he answered her prayer by giving her a son. “God has taken away my disgrace,” she said. 24″I’ll name the boy Joseph, [al] and I’ll pray that the LORD will give me another son.

Bible Study – Jacob Steals Esau’s Blessing.

In your group (and as appropriate for your group) share:

1. The best thing that happened to you this week
2. The worst thing that happened to you this week
3. A time in the last week you saw God at work in our community or in another person
Read the passage below.
1. Is there anything about your own life that resonates with this story? What is it?
2. What do you think of the sons in this story – who should receive the blessing?
3. What do you make of the sons’ attitude toward birthright?
4. If you were in God’s place, what would you do?
Take a minute to pray together. Bless one another. What does “the blessing” mean to you?
( You can just say, “May the Lord bless you and keep you.” No need to steal a blessing!)
Genesis 27 The Birth of Esau and Jacob

19Isaac was the son of Abraham, 20and he was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel. She was also the sister of Laban, the Aramean from northern Syria. [e] Almost twenty years later, 21Rebekah still had no children. So Isaac asked the LORD to let her have a child, and the LORD answered his prayer.
22Before Rebekah gave birth, she knew she was going to have twins, because she could feel them inside her, fighting each other. She thought, “Why is this happening to me?” Finally, she asked the LORD why her twins were fighting, 23and he told her: “Your two sons will become two separate nations. [f] The younger of the two will be stronger, and the older son will be his servant.” 24When Rebekah gave birth, 25the first baby was covered with red hair, so he was named Esau. [g] 26The second baby grabbed on to his brother’s heel, so they named him Jacob. [h] Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.
27As Jacob and Esau grew older, Esau liked the outdoors and became a good hunter, while Jacob settled down and became a shepherd. 28Esau would take the meat of wild animals to his father Isaac, and so Isaac loved him more, but Jacob was his mother’s favorite son.
29One day, Jacob was cooking some stew, when Esau came home hungry 30and said, “I’m starving to death! Give me some of that red stew right now!” That’s how Esau got the name “Edom.” [i] 31Jacob replied, “Sell me your rights as the first-born son.” [j] 32″I’m about to die,” Esau answered. “What good will those rights do me?” 33But Jacob said, “Promise me your birthrights, here and now!” And that’s what Esau did. 34Jacob then gave Esau some bread and some of the bean stew, and when Esau had finished eating and drinking, he just got up and left, showing how little he thought of his rights as the first-born.

Bible Study – Jacob and the Desperate Housewives (Rated R)

In your group (and as appropriate for your group) share:

1. The best thing that happened to you this week
2. The worst thing that happened to you this week
3. A time in the last week you saw God at work in our community or in another person
Read the passage below.
1. Is there anything about your own life that resonates with this story? What is it? (This is a tongue-in cheek question! – the other groups are using it with less racy stories.)
2. What do you think of the people in this story – who should receive the blessing?
3. An “etiology” is a form of narrative that explains the origin of something, such the name of a place or people group. Where do you see etiologies in this story?
4. If you were in God’s place, what would you do?
Take a minute to pray together. Bless one another. What does “the blessing” mean to you?
( You can just say, “May the Lord bless you and keep you.” No need to steal a blessing!)
_____________________________________________________________________________
Gen. 29-30
1As Jacob continued on his way to the east, 2he looked out in a field and saw a well where shepherds took their sheep for water. Three flocks of sheep were lying around the well, which was covered with a large rock. 3Shepherds would roll the rock away when all their sheep had gathered there. Then after the sheep had been watered, the shepherds would roll the rock back over the mouth of the well.
Jacob asked the shepherds, “Where are you from?” “We’re from Haran,” they answered. 5Then he asked, “Do you know Nahor’s grandson Laban?” “Yes we do,” they replied. 6″How is he?” Jacob asked. “He’s fine,” they answered. “And here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.”
7Jacob told them, “Look, the sun is still high up in the sky, and it’s too early to bring in the rest of the flocks. Water your sheep and take them back to the pasture.” 8But they replied, “We can’t do that until they all get here, and the rock has been rolled away from the well.”
9While Jacob was still talking with the men, his cousin Rachel came up with her father’s sheep. 10When Jacob saw her and his uncle’s sheep, he rolled the rock away and watered the sheep. 11He then kissed Rachel and started crying because he was so happy. 12He told her that he was the son of her aunt Rebekah, and she ran and told her father about him. 13As soon as Laban heard the news, he ran out to meet Jacob. He hugged and kissed him and brought him to his home, where Jacob told him everything that had happened. 14Laban said, “You are my nephew, and you are like one of my own family.”
After Jacob had been there for a month, 15Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t have to work without pay, just because you are a relative of mine. What do you want me to give you?”
16-17Laban had two daughters. Leah was older than Rachel, but her eyes didn’t sparkle, [y] while Rachel was beautiful and had a good figure. 18Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he answered, “If you will let me marry Rachel, I’ll work seven years for you.” 19Laban replied, “It’s better for me to let you marry Rachel than for someone else to have her. So stay and work for me.” 20Jacob worked seven years for Laban, but the time seemed like only a few days, because he loved Rachel so much.
21Jacob said to Laban, “The time is up, and I want to marry Rachel now!” 22So Laban gave a big feast and invited all their neighbors. 23But that evening he brought Leah to Jacob, who married her and spent the night with her. 24Laban also gave Zilpah to Leah as her servant woman.
25The next morning Jacob found out that he had married Leah, and he asked Laban, “Why did you do this to me? Didn’t I work to get Rachel? Why did you trick me?”
26Laban replied, “In our country the older daughter must get married first. 27After you spend this week [z] with Leah, you may also marry Rachel. But you will have to work for me another seven years.” 28-30At the end of the week of celebration, Laban let Jacob marry Rachel, and he gave her his servant woman Bilhah. Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah, but he had to work another seven years for Laban.
31The LORD knew that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah, and so he gave children to Leah, but not to Rachel. 32Leah gave birth to a son and named him Reuben, [aa] because she said, “The LORD has taken away my sorrow. Now my husband will love me more than he does Rachel.” 33She had a second son and named him Simeon, [ab] because she said, “The LORD has heard that my husband doesn’t love me.” 34When Leah’s third son was born, she said, “Now my husband will hold me close.” So this son was named Levi. [ac] 35She had one more son and named him Judah, [ad] because she said, “I’ll praise the LORD!”
1Rachel was very jealous of Leah for having children, and she said to Jacob, “I’ll die if you don’t give me some children!” 2But Jacob became upset with Rachel and answered, “Don’t blame me! I’m not God.” 3″Here, take my servant Bilhah,” Rachel told him. “Have children by her, and I’ll let them be born on my knees to show that they are mine.”
4Then Rachel let Jacob marry Bilhah, 5and they had a son. 6Rachel named him Dan, [ae] because she said, “God has answered my prayers. He has judged me and given me a son.” 7When Bilhah and Jacob had a second son, 8Rachel said, “I’ve struggled hard with my sister, and I’ve won!” So she named the boy Naphtali. [af] 9When Leah realized she could not have any more children, she let Jacob marry her servant Zilpah, 10and they had a son. 11″I’m really lucky,” Leah said, and she named the boy Gad. [ag] 12When they had another son, 13Leah exclaimed, “I’m happy now, and all the women will say how happy I am.” So she named him Asher. [ah]
Love Flowers
14During the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben found some love flowers [ai] and took them to his mother Leah. Rachel asked Leah for some of them, 15but Leah said, “It’s bad enough that you stole my husband! Now you want my son’s love flowers too.” “All right,” Rachel answered. “Let me have the flowers, and you can sleep with Jacob tonight.”
16That evening when Jacob came in from the fields, Leah told him, “You’re sleeping with me tonight. I hired you with my son’s love flowers.” They slept together that night, 17and God answered Leah’s prayers by giving her a fifth son. 18Leah shouted, “God has rewarded me for letting Jacob marry my servant,” and she named the boy Issachar. [aj] 19When Leah had another son, 20she exclaimed, “God has given me a wonderful gift, and my husband will praise me for giving him six sons.” So she named the boy Zebulun. [ak] 21Later, Leah had a daughter and named her Dinah. 22-23Finally, God remembered Rachel–he answered her prayer by giving her a son. “God has taken away my disgrace,” she said. 24″I’ll name the boy Joseph, [al] and I’ll pray that the LORD will give me another son.

Bible Study – Hagar and Ishmael

In your group (and as appropriate for your group) share:

1. The best thing that happened to you this week
2. The worst thing that happened to you this week
3. A time in the last week you saw God at work in our community or in another person

Read the passage on the back.

1. What do you find surprising or intriguing about this passage?
2. What does this passage do to your view of Abraham?  Sarah? 
3. What does God do to redeem the situation with Hagar?
4. Ishmael is known as the father of the Ishmaelites, who eventually (thousands of years later) became followers of Islam.  How does this passage illuminate the relationship of the three “Abrahamic faiths” Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (remembering that this passage is written by Jews from the perspective of Jews)?

If you have time, review how using the Faith Five has been going at your house.  If you feel uncomfortable or silly, or that it is just unnecessary, explore why that might be the case.

Take a minute to pray our thanks for the creation and for the gifts of the knowledge of God passed down through the ages.  Your group can decide whether to do this out loud or to write down a prayer to put in your prayer box and take home.  Sometimes it is hard to pray aloud in front of people we don’t know very well!   You can save that for family time if you prefer.

Bless one another.   You can just say, “May the Lord bless you and keep you.” 

Gen. 16 Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to have children. Since she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar, ² Sarai said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from giving birth, so go to my servant. Maybe she will provide me with children.” Abram did just as Sarai said. ³ After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took her Egyptian servant Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. ⁴ He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when she realized that she was pregnant, she no longer respected her mistress. ⁵ Sarai said to Abram, “This harassment is your fault. I allowed you to embrace my servant, but when she realized she was pregnant, I lost her respect. Let the LORD decide who is right, you or me.”

 Abram said to Sarai, “Since she’s your servant, do whatever you wish to her.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she ran away from Sarai.  The LORD’s messenger found Hagar at a spring in the desert, the spring on the road to Shur, and said, “Hagar! Sarai’s servant! Where did you come from and where are you going?”    She said, “From Sarai my mistress. I’m running away.”

The LORD’s messenger said to her, “Go back to your mistress. Put up with her harsh treatment of you.” The LORD’s messenger also said to her. “I will give you many children, so many they can’t be counted! You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You will name him Ishmaelbecause the LORD has heard about your harsh treatment. He will be a wild mule of a man; he will fight everyone, and they will fight him. He will live at odds  with all his relatives.”

Gen. 21. The LORD was attentive to Sarah just as he had said, and the LORD carried out just what he had promised her. ² She became pregnant and gave birth to a son.³ Abraham named his son—the one Sarah bore him—Isaac.

 ⁸ The boy grew and stopped nursing. On the day he stopped nursing, Abraham prepared a huge banquet. ⁹ Sarah saw Hagar’s son laughing, the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham. ¹⁰ So she said to Abraham, “Send this servant away with her son! This servant’s son won’t share the inheritance with my son Isaac.”

 ¹¹ This upset Abraham terribly because the boy was his son. ¹² God said to Abraham, “Don’t be upset about the boy and your servant. Do everything Sarah tells you to do because your descendants will be traced through Isaac. ¹³ But I will make of your servant’s son a great nation too, because he is also your descendant.” ¹⁴ Abraham got up early in the morning, took some bread and a flask of water, and gave it to Hagar. He put the boy in her shoulder sling and sent her away.

   She left and wandered through the desert near Beer-sheba. ¹⁵ Finally the water in the flask ran out, and she put the boy down under one of the desert shrubs. ¹⁶ She walked away from him about as far as a bow shot and sat down, telling herself, I can’t bear to see the boy die. She sat at a distance, cried out in grief, and wept.

 ¹⁷ God heard the boy’s cries, and God’s messenger called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “Hagar! What’s wrong? Don’t be afraid. God has heard the boy’s cries over there. ¹⁸ Get up, pick up the boy, and take him by the hand because I will make of him a great nation.” ¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. She went over, filled the water flask, and gave the boy a drink. ²⁰ God remained with the boy; he grew up, lived in the desert, and became an expert archer. ²¹ He lived in the Paran desert, and his mother found him an Egyptian wife

Bible Study – Abraham Pleads for Sodom

In your group (and as appropriate for your group) share:

1. The best thing that happened to you this week
2. The worst thing that happened to you this week
3. A time in the last week you saw God at work in our community or in another person

Read the passage on the back aloud. Choose one person to be the Narrator (most of the passage), one person to say Abraham’s lines, and one person to say God’s lines.

1. What do you find surprising or intriguing about this passage?
2. What does this passage do to your view of Abraham?
3. What does this passage imply in terms of your prayer life?
4. Carefully consider the steps Abraham takes to deliver his argument to God.
   1. What are the steps?
   2. What are the “people skills”?
   3. What can you learn about leading and “managing upward?” from this passage?

If you have time, review how using the Faith Five has been going at your house.  If you feel uncomfortable or silly, or that it is just unnecessary, explore why that might be the case.

Take a minute to pray our thanks for the creation and for the gifts of the knowledge of God passed down through the ages.  Your group can decide whether to do this out loud or to write down a prayer to put in your prayer box and take home.  Sometimes it is hard to pray aloud in front of people we don’t know very well!   You can save that for family time if you prefer.

Bless one another.   You can just say, “May the Lord bless you and keep you.” 

Then God said, “Shall I keep back from Abraham what I’m about to do? Abraham is going to become a large and strong nation; all the nations of the world are going to find themselves blessed through him. Yes, I’ve settled on him as the one to train his children and future family to observe God’s way of life, live kindly and generously and fairly, so that God can complete in Abraham what he promised him.”

 ^20-21 God continued, “The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening; the sin of those cities is immense. I’m going down to see for myself, see if what they’re doing is as bad as it sounds. Then I’ll know.”

 ²² The men set out for Sodom, but Abraham stood in God’s path, blocking his way.

 ^23-25 Abraham confronted him, “Are you serious? Are you planning on getting rid of the good people right along with the bad? What if there are fifty decent people left in the city; will you lump the good with the bad and get rid of the lot? Wouldn’t you spare the city for the sake of those fifty innocents? I can’t believe you’d do that, kill off the good and the bad alike as if there were no difference between them. Doesn’t the Judge of all the Earth judge with justice?”

 ²⁶ God said, “If I find fifty decent people in the city of Sodom, I’ll spare the place just for them.”

 ^27-28 Abraham came back, “Do I, a mere mortal made from a handful of dirt, dare open my mouth again to my Master? What if the fifty fall short by five—would you destroy the city because of those missing five?”

   He said, “I won’t destroy it if there are forty-five.”

 ²⁹ Abraham spoke up again, “What if you only find forty?”

   ”Neither will I destroy it if for forty.”

 ³⁰ He said, “Master, don’t be irritated with me, but what if only thirty are found?”

   ”No, I won’t do it if I find thirty.”

 ³¹ He pushed on, “I know I’m trying your patience, Master, but how about for twenty?”

   ”I won’t destroy it for twenty.”

 ³² He wouldn’t quit, “Don’t get angry, Master—this is the last time. What if you only come up with ten?”

   ”For the sake of only ten, I won’t destroy the city.”

 ³³ When God finished talking with Abraham, he left. And Abraham went home,

Bible Study – The Binding of Isaac

In your group (and as appropriate for your group) share:

1. The best thing that happened to you this week
2. The worst thing that happened to you this week
3. A time in the last week you saw God at work in our community or in another person

Read the passage on the back aloud. Choose one person to be the Narrator (most of the passage), one person to say Abraham’s lines, one person to say Isaac’s lines, and one person to say God’s/God’s Angel’s lines.

1. What do you find surprising or intriguing about this passage?
2. What does this passage do to your view of Abraham?
3. What do you think is meant by “how fearlessly you fear God?”
4. Abraham and Sarah went through a lot of heartbreak before Isaac was born.  Why didn’t they hang onto him when the Lord demanded him?
5. What do you have that you would not surrender to God? 

If you have time, review how using the Faith Five has been going at your house.  If you feel uncomfortable or silly, or that it is just unnecessary, explore why that might be the case.

Take a minute to pray our thanks for the creation and for the gifts of the knowledge of God passed down through the ages.  Your group can decide whether to do this out loud or to write down a prayer to put in your prayer box and take home.  Sometimes it is hard to pray aloud in front of people we don’t know very well!   You can save that for family time if you prefer.

Bless one another.   You can just say, “May the Lord bless you and keep you.” 

Genesis 22

 ¹ After all this, God tested Abraham. God said, “Abraham!”
“Yes?” answered Abraham. “I’m listening.”

 ² He said, “Take your dear son Isaac whom you love and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I’ll point out to you.” ^3-5 Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey. He took two of his young servants and his son Isaac. He had split wood for the burnt offering. He set out for the place God had directed him. On the third day he looked up and saw the place in the distance. Abraham told his two young servants, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I are going over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.”

 ⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and gave it to Isaac his son to carry. He carried the flint and the knife. The two of them went off together.

 ⁷ Isaac said to Abraham his father, “Father?”

   ”Yes, my son.”

   ”We have flint and wood, but where’s the sheep for the burnt offering?”

 ⁸ Abraham said, “Son, God will see to it that there’s a sheep for the burnt offering.” And they kept on walking together.

 ^9-10 They arrived at the place to which God had directed him. Abraham built an altar. He laid out the wood. Then he tied up Isaac and laid him on the wood. Abraham reached out and took the knife to kill his son.

 ¹¹ Just then an angel of God called to him out of Heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

   ”Yes, I’m listening.”

 ¹² “Don’t lay a hand on that boy! Don’t touch him! Now I know how fearlessly you fear God; you didn’t hesitate to place your son, your dear son, on the altar for me.”

 ¹³ Abraham looked up. He saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

 ¹⁴ Abraham named that place God-Yireh (God-Sees-to-It). That’s where we get the saying, “On the mountain of God, he sees to it.”

 ^15-18 The angel of God spoke from Heaven a second time to Abraham: “I swear—God’s sure word!—because you have gone through with this, and have not refused to give me your son, your dear, dear son, I’ll bless you—oh, how I’ll bless you! And I’ll make sure that your children flourish—like stars in the sky! like sand on the beaches! And your descendants will defeat their enemies. All nations on Earth will find themselves blessed through your descendants because you obeyed me.”

 ¹⁹ Then Abraham went back to his young servants. They got things together and returned to Beersheba. Abraham settled down in Beersheba.