Read Genesis 17:1-19 and Romans 4:11. What is the spiritual and prophetic significance of the circumcision rite? Abram’s lack of faith, as seen in the preceding story (Genesis chapter 16), broke the flow of Abram’s spiritual journey with God. During that time God was silent. For the first time now, God speaks again to Abram. God reconnects with … Continue reading –>
Read Genesis 16:1-16. What is the significance of Abram’s decision to go with Hagar, even despite God’s promise to him? How do the two women represent two attitudes of faith (Galatians 4:21-31)? When Abram doubted (Genesis 15:2), God unambiguously reassured him that He will have a son. Years later, Abram is still without a son. Even after God’s … Continue reading –>
Read Genesis 15:1-21 and Romans 4:3-4, Romans 4:9, Romans 4:22. How does Abram reveal what it means to live by faith? What is the meaning of the sacrifice that God had Abram perform? God’s first response to Abram’s concern about an heir (Genesis 15:1-3) is that he will have a son from his “own body” (Genesis 15:4, NKJV). The same language is … Continue reading –>
Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 15:1-19:29; Romans 4:3-4, Romans 4:9, Romans 4:22; Galatians 4:21-31; Romans 4:11; Romans 9:9; Amos 4:11. Memory Text: “But Abram said, ‘Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’” (Genesis 15:2, NKJV). With Genesis chapter 15, we come to the crucial moment when God … Continue reading –>
A Dream Marriage By Yulia Bondarenko The day Ruth took her first step toward becoming a missionary was when she gave her life to Jesus and was baptized while in the seventh grade in the U.S. In the eighth grade, she was asked to clean her Seventh-day Adventist church. She knew nothing about cleaning churches, … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Abraham in Canaan,” Pages 134-136, in Patriarchs and Prophets. “Christ’s church is to be a blessing, and its members are to be blessed as they bless others. The object of God in choosing a people before all the world was not only that He might adopt them as His sons and … Continue reading –>
Read Genesis 14:18-24 and Hebrews 7:1-10. Who was Melchizedek? Why did Abram give his tithe to this priest who seems to appear out of nowhere? The sudden appearance of the mysterious Melchizedek is not out of place. After Abram has been thanked by the Canaanite kings, he now thanks this priest, a thankfulness revealed by his paying his … Continue reading –>
Read Genesis 14:1-17. What is significant about this war taking place just after the gift of the Promised Land? What does this story teach us about Abram? This is the first war narrated in the Scriptures (Genesis 14:2). The coalition of four armies from Mesopotamia and Persia against the other coalition of five Canaanite armies, including the … Continue reading –>
Read Genesis 13:1-18. What does this story teach us about the importance of character? Abram returns to where he was before, as if his trip to Egypt were a mere unfortunate detour. God’s history with Abram starts again, where it had stopped since his first trip to the Promised Land. Abram’s first station is Bethel (Genesis 13:3), … Continue reading –>
Read Genesis 12:10-20. Why did Abram leave the Promised Land to go to Egypt? How did the pharaoh behave in comparison to Abram? Ironically, Abram, who had just arrived in the Promised Land, decides to leave it for Egypt because “there was a famine in the land” (Genesis 12:10, NKJV). Evidence of people from Canaan going into … Continue reading –>
