and void
A people
Walking by faith
in the cruciformity of life
And a picture painted of the one
Who from, through, to and for all things
were made
The Genesis of Grace
An overview of Genesis
‘Let there be’
‘and there was’
‘and God saw it was good’
In the beginning
God…
In the beginning

God…
• God created,
hovered, separated,
called, said, saw, finished
and blessed in the first chapter
• 7 words (in Hebrew) in the first verse
• 7 days in the first chapter
7 times said good ( last being very
good regarding Adam and Eve )
10 accounts
creation
fall, flood,
nations,
Records of generations:
Shem’s line , Terah’s line
Ishmael’s line, Isaac’s line
Esau’s line, Jacob’s line
And with it the story of Joseph
Israel the person becomes Israel the
nation
In the beginning,
God…
• The pattern used for day:
• a morning
• an evening
• a numbered day
The garden imagery will come back
later (a few being as follows)
• In the garden imagery of the temple, such as the
Holy Place and Holy of Holies
• The temptation of Adam in the garden will
contrast with Jesus temptations in the wilderness
• The evening and morning imagery comes bak in
Book 1 of the Psalms which poetically is like
Genesis
• Men and animals will eat plant stuff with no
mention of death (of those with the breath of
life)
• 4 great events
– Creation
– Fall
– Flood
– Babel
• 4 great people
– Abraham
– Isaac
– Jacob
– Joseph
A story of grace
• Grace for Adam and Eve
– Covering of animals
– They didn’t immediately physically die
– Promise of a redeemer
• Fratricide of Able
– Followed by a grace and protection from vengeance for Cain
• An expansive violence on the earth
– Followed by grace for Noah
• An expansive judgment of the earth
– Followed by an expansive grace for Abraham
– And sanctifying grace working in the lives of the patriarchs
Adam and Christ
•Adam tempted in garden,
•Jesus tempted in dessert
•Adam brought death,
• Jesus gives life
•Adam left paradise,
• Jesus grants paradise
•Adam ruled the garden,
•Jesus rules the universe
•Adam lived for a time,
•Jesus lives forever
10 Accounts told

generations, records..
• Prologue
– Genesis 1
• Creation
– Genesis 2:4 [ Adam and Eve ] This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
• Flood
– Genesis 6:9 [ Noah and the Flood ] This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man,
blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.
• Nations
– Genesis 10:1 [ The Table of Nations ] This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who
themselves had sons after the flood.
• Shem
– Genesis 11:10 [ From Shem to Abram ] This is the account of Shem’s family line. Two years after the flood,
when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad
• Terah Abram’s father
– Genesis 11:27 [ Abram’s Family ] This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of
Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.
• Ishmael then Isaac
– Genesis 25:12 Ishmael’s Sons ] This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom
Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraha
– Genesis 25:19 [ Jacob and Esau ] This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham
became the father of Isaac,
• Essau , Essau’s line then Jacob
– Genesis 36:1 This is the account of the family line of Esau (that is, Edom).
– Genesis 36:9 This is the account of the family line of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of
Seir.
– Genesis 37:2 This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the
flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their
father a bad report about them.
Move 1 -Moving from no picture 

to big picture…
• The world was “Tofu v’bofu” - formless and void
• Let there be:
– The world was separated in days 1, 2, 3
– The world was filled in days 4, 5, 6
– 7 times declared good
• Let us make, in our image
– Man said ‘made in God’s image’ 3 times
– To reflect on and reflect God’s glory
– Man was made, the first marriage happened
– And it was ‘very good’
• Blessings were upon the 7th day
– the animals, the image bearers and on the 7th day ( which also is
the only use of the word holy in the book, for the Sabbath)
– And God rested
Move 2 - Moving from big picture 

to mankind…
• Creation told of the world in Genesis 1
– God created, hovered, separated, called, said, saw,
finished, blessed
• Creation told from another point of view in
Genesis 2 and 3
– God made, had not caused rain, put man in garden,
commanded, said, caused a deep sleep, sound of God walking,
called, cursed, sent, appointed, created
• Man was the crown in Genesis 1
• But not in Genesis 2 and 3 man is also the
focus
Move 3 - Moving from a very good world

to a sin broken world…
• Sin enters the picture in Genesis 4
• Man sinned and a curse of death enters
the world
( although marred by sin the angels in Isaiah still say this
present ‘heaven and earth are filled with Your Glory’ and
in Titus ‘everything created by God is good’)
Jesus in the opening of Genesis

before the fall
• Light from darkness points to a work of God in the
gospel and changed hearts previously dark
• The word of God making the world is Jesus
• The sun and moon appearing midst week is like the
incarnation midst history
• The Man like the tree of life in Psalm 1 is Jesus
• The Man with dominion over creation in Psalm 8 is
Jesus, the second Adam
• Adam tending and guarding the garden uses the same
terms as a priest portending Jesus as high priest
• Marriage is a picture of Christ and the church
• Adam gets a wife when he sleeps and from his side.
Jesus sleeps the sleep of death and speared on his
side the bride of Christ, the church is born.
Jesus in the opening of Genesis

after the fall
• The seed of the woman portends the virgin birth
• Death enters the world and the ground yields
thorns but Jesus enters death and wears the
crown of thorns
• The covering of Adam and Eve with animal skins
(who had to die) portends the atonement
• The blood of Jesus speaks better than the blood
of Abel
And a serpent motif

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord
Jesus be with you. Romans 16:20
• The serpent will strike His (the coming Messiah)
heel but he will crush the serpent’s head
• And the seed of the serpent will strike at the
heal of the godly while they will crush the head
of the serpent (through history)
• Will the coming one be King Saul who defeats a
serpent king in an early battle? No
• Will the coming one be King David who defeats
Goliath in his scaly serpent like armor? No
• Note the serpent headdress of Pharaoh
Some say you can divide the Bible in
half right here
• A good world, now fallen ( Genesis 1-4)
• The progress of redemption ( everything
after)
Watch the order of genealogies…
The chosen is last
• Seth after Cain
• Shem after Japheth and Ham
• Isaac after Ishmael
• Jacob after Essau
Death is the rule…
…and he died…
…and he died…
…and he died…
…and he died…
…and he died…
…and he died…
But… the 7th (unsurprisingly) from Adam
Enoch walks with God and was not for God took
him… not dying… and being great grandfather to
Noah
Death is the rule…
…and he died…
…and he died…
…and he died…
…and he died…
…and he died…
…and he died…
But… the 7th (unsurprisingly) from Adam
Enoch walks with God and was not for God took
him… not dying… and being great grandfather to
Noah
… and we can pause to reflect on why the book was written…



Important questions for anyone

Especially important questions to the generation leaving Egypt to enter the promised land



• The nature of God
• The nature of man
• Where did we come from
• Where are we going to
• The need for redemption
• Why are we doing what we’re doing?
… man began to call on the name
of God… at that time
• And yet it seems their religion was
shallow
• And the world was filled with
violence
Sin and death reigning - many lived and
died with one exception (and a godly line)
• Enoch in the 7th Generation
– Walks with God and was not for God took him
• His son, Lamech (dying 5 years before the flood)
• His son, Methuselah (dying the year of the flood)
• His son, Noah (born close to the death of Adam)
A line pointing to Jesus, some
point out the series of names are:
Hebrew
Noah Rest, or
comfort.
English
Adam Man
Seth Appointed
Enosh Mortal
Kenan Sorrpw
Mahalalel The blessed God
Jared Shall come down
Enoch Teaching
Methuselah His death shall bring
Lamech The Despairing
Noah Rest, or comfort.
About those genealogies….
• Seems the not chosen tends to be first
• In the generations up to Noah there are only
two recorded sayings of the people in the
genealogy recounting… and both named
Lamech
• the first brags to his wives how he killed a
youth for disrespecting him
• the second prophesies about Noah his son
and how Noah will give us rest from the land
and more on those genealogies
• some argue that perhaps there are gaps in
the genealogies
• the pattern used makes that difficult :
• a man fathering a son
• when the son is a certain age has the
next generation in the genealogy
• there are abbreviated genealogies in the
Bible such as Zephaniah but not in the
this same unbroken pattern as genesis
About the time of Noah
• Unusual events leading up to the flood in the
life of Lamech (the good one, Noah’s father)
• Adam died in his life
• Enoch (Lamech’s father) was taken away
• Noah giving us rest from the land was
prophesied by Lamacq
• Men were calling on the name of the Lord
(at least in Lamech’s line)
In the time up to the flood, God…
• took Enoch, saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt,
for all flesh said, remembered, made a wind blow
over the earth, and the waters subsided blessed Noah
and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply
and fill the earth. Promised that when the bow is in
the clouds, I will see it and remember not to destroy the
earth with a flood
… but Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord…
The Flood
• The entire epoch
of Noah is literarily
put together not
haphazardly but as
a large chiasm
and an interesting
outline is given
by: https://
www.thegospelcoalition.org/
article/9-things-you-should-know-
about-the-story-of-noah
about that wind …
• In Genesis 1 ‘the Spirit of God hovered
over the waters
• In the account of Noah, God sent a wind
to cause the waters to recede
• In the Exodus, God sent an east wind to
dry the waters of the red sea to let the
Israelites walk on dry ground
The flood

picture form Ark Encounter in Kentucky
Grace in Noah
• Noah is born in history shortly following Adam’s
death, calling for attention of the world
• The Ark itself would be a object lesson of the
need for repentance and coming judgment to
anyone seeing it in progress
• God patiently waited a hundred years for the
Ark to be built
• The first occurrence of the word ‘grace’ in the
Bible is Gen 6:8 ‘.. But Noah found grace in
the eyes of the Lord…’
Cruciformity in Noah
• The future life span of man would be
limited to less than the time it took to
build the ark and this would be apparent
to Noah’s family
• The Bible says that Noah was one of only
two men in all of history who “walked
with God (the other being his great
grandfather, Enoch)
Jesus in Noah
• Noah offered a sacrifice after the flood and God
promised never to destroy the earth with a flood
portends Jesus sacrifice for the world
• Noah is the one who will give us ‘rest from our
work’
• In the Ark Noah is ‘lifted off the ground’
• There is one door and it is opened until the rain
came
• Being saved through the water portends baptism
where Jesus is the Ark and Jesus is the one door on
the Ark.
• The resurrection of the world, post flood portends
the resurrection of Christ
And nations born after the flood
• Mankind is at Babel
• Fearing God, but not following God
• Build ‘a tower’ in case God sends the flood he
said he would not
– Let us ‘brick bricks’ Let us build
– Let us burn burn Let use harden the bricks
– Very humanistic… a vestige of religion
• And languages are confused by God and man
scatters
• And… man largely falls back into idolatry…
A covenant for the world
• God promises not to destroy the world with a flood AFTER one
man, Noah offers sacrifice (looking forward to the one sacrifice of
Jesus)
• God’s bow now in the clouds and pointing toward the man in heaven
(Jesus) In Hebrew the word is simply bow.
See http://feedingonchrist.com/the-symbolism-of-the-rainbow/
And after limiting the lifetime of man
for the world…
• God gives a blessing in the life of a couple
growing too to have children ( a blessing in
the midst of the restraint of length of life)
• The man without children, Abram, would
become a blessing for all families on earth
• And a people born ‘out of nothing’ as it
were
• Abram had parents who were idol worshipers
and lived in a place that worshiped idols and
called out of it.
Babel and the scattering of nations
By Peter Bruegel the Elder 1563
Genesis 12:1-4a
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your
country and your kindred and your father’s
house to the land that I will show you.
– I will make of you a great nation, and
– I will bless you, and
– make your name great, so that
– you will be a blessing.
– I will bless those who bless you, an
– the one who curses you I will curse; and
– in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him…
7 blessings
… and Abram believed God and it was
counted as righteousness…
From Abram to Abraham - 1
• Told to ‘walk before Me and be blameless’
• Promised a child waits 10 years
• Deals with some fears
• Deals with some doubts
• Makes some bad choices
From Abram to Abraham - 2
• Sarai gives him her Egyptian servant Hagar
to have a child in her name
• Hagar becomes ‘with child’
• Hagar is treated harshly and runs away
• God names the child ‘Ishmael’ God hears,
for God has heard your cries and tells
Hagar to return to Sarai
• God makes the promise that Ismael with
have 12 princes some day
Abraham’s descendants will be like the stars that can’t be counted
Taken from https://redthreadoflove.com/2013/07/21/promise-giver-
promise-keeper/
From Abram to Abraham - 3
• After Ishmael is about 12….
• God promises a son to Sarai (Abram’s
wife)
• Abram asks why Ishmael can’t be the heir
• Abram and Sarai are renamed
– Abraham (was father not father of nations)
– Sarah (was princess now also princess)
A deep darkness, a flash of light, and
it’s over…. Did you miss it? - 1
• A dark time
– Lot and Abram have issues over land
use
– Abram offers Lot first choice
– Lot chooses poorly and heads next to
Sodom with it’s deceptively attractive
appearance
– Kings attack, Lot’s family taken,
Abraham mounts a rescue successfully
– And in the midst of a corrupt King of
Sodom’s conversation an interruption
A deep darkness, a flash of light, and
it’s over…. Did you miss it? - 2
• A Flash of light
– interrupting the King of Sodom mid sentence
– Melchizadek, the priest king of Jebus (will be
Jerusalem) appears bringing bread and wine
– A priest of God most high, with no genealogy
listed
– And in Psalm 109, 110 a picture of the
Messiah
– And then he’s gone as fast as he came
From Abram to Abraham - 4
• Isaac is born
– Sarah casts out Ishmael
– But God has promised Ishmael 12 children
• Abraham will have been ready to give up
his sons
– Lot his nephew (like a son taken away)
– Ishmael (cast out by Sarah, grieved Abraham
but God told him to do as Sarah asked)
– Now asked to sacrifice Isaac and would
Abraham?
‘…we will return…’ 

and two happy men return from the mountain
Genesis 22:5
 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy
go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
Hebrews 11:8
 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive
as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know
where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land
like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and
Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was
looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and
builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing
age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him
faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and
he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the
sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
Cruciformity in Abram’s life
• Abram’s fears
– He feared losing Sarah and lied
– God would have Abram get a group of men and retrieve his
relatives waging war
• God increased Abram’s prayers for others
– Before Isaac was born God had Abram pray for the wives of
Abimelech, a Philistine King, that they might have children
– Sometimes a blessing comes after looking outside yourself helping
others ( God healed Job after he prayed for his friends)
• God stretched Abrams Faith
– Abram tried to help God in areas God didn’t need help
– God did more than he asked or hoped for
– Not just a father of an heir but father of nations
• God did more than Abram asked or hoped for
– He was promised a child at 76
– Went Abram died Isaac was about 76
Jesus in Abraham’s life
• All families will be blessed in Abraham’s seed
(singular – Jesus)
– See Psalm 89 which makes use of singular seed of
David, and Abraham
• Abraham was willing to offer Isaac knowing God
promised his blessing through Isaac portending a
resurrection
• The encounter with Melchizedek the priest king
portends Jesus and priest king
– See psalms 109 and 110 of a mini drama on the poor
man helped in 109 and lifted to the right hand of God
on the order of Melchizadek
Genesis 21:5
 Abraham was a hundred years old when
his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah
said, “God has made laughter for me;
everyone who hears will laugh over me.”
7 And she said, “Who would have said to
Abraham that Sarah would nurse children?
Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Grace in the life of Abraham
• Grace overflowing, where he was blessed
to be a blessing (of all families)
• Although Abram came from a family and
tradition of idol worship (his relative’s
names relate to moon worship) he was
given grace to know the true God
Isaac, a transitional figure - 1
• Sarah dies
• Abraham sends the steward of his house to get
a wife for Isaac
– He travels to Abraham's relative
– He sees the cousin at a well ( the first romantic
well story since Isaac, Jacob and Moses all get
their wives in similar way)
• After Isaac is remarried and Sarah gone,
Abraham marries Keturah
– And has 6 more sons
– And an unknown number of daughters
Isaac, a transitional figure - 2
• Rebecca is barren, but Isaac prays and God lets
Rebecca conceive (Gen 25:21)
• Rebecca becomes ‘with child’ and there is a war in
her womb
• God tells her there are two nations fighting inside her
but ‘the older shall serve the younger’
– Esau is born first
– Jacob is born grasping at his heal
• A family divided
– Mom (Rebecca) favors Jacob, the stay at home type
– Dad (Isaac) favors Esau the outdoor hunter type
Isaac, a transitional figure - 3
• The struggle over a birthright
– Esau sells his birthright (as first born) for a
meal cooked by Jacob
– When Isaac is old, he will bless Esau and
Jacob dresses up as Esau, and successfully
steals the blessing
– Esau is angry, threatens to kill Jacob and
Jacob flees
– Rebecca never sees Isaac again
Grace in the life of Isaac
• Shown in the provision of a wife at the
well Genesis 24:49 Now then, if you are going to show
steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not,
tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
• Shuddered when he realized he blessed
Jacob instead of Esau and learned a lesson of God’s
gracious choice
• God acted to bring Isaac back to the
promised land when he went to Egypt
Cruciformity in Isaac’s life
• Isaac learned (the hard way) his choice can be
overridden by God’s choice as to which child will
be heir
• Isaac was to stay in the promised land (Canaan)
but went to Egypt
• While Abram saying Sarah was his sister was a half
truth, Isaac saying similar of Rebecca was not
true at all
• He would come back but that was a mistake
• Isaac’s favoring of Esau would cause Jacob to flea
home for the rest of his life
• Esau and Isaac meeting again at Isaac’s funeral
Jesus in Isaac
• Isaac slept on a rock and had a dream of a
ladder that angels went between heaven
and earth ( Jesus is the ladder )
Jacob and the conflict continues -1
• The struggle continues with his wives
– Jacob flees to Laban’s home, and meets his
future wife (Rachel, God’s lamb) at a well (as
did Isaac)
– Jacob agrees to work 7 years to marry Rachel
– Jacob the tricker is Jacob’ed by Laban
– He is given the wrong bride, Leah (not as
pretty and not the one he loved)
– He must work 7 more years and now is married
to Leah – the unloved and Rachel – the loved
… about that
red guy, Esau
• He trades his
birthright for a bowl
of food
• and God sends a
famine
Jacob and the conflict continues -2
• The struggle continues with his wives
– Rachel, the loved, has no children
– Leah has many Reuben, Simeon, Judah…
– Rachel, the loved wife, has Joseph, the loved
son
– And there are more sons born to Leah and her
servants
– Rachel dies giving birth to Benami (son of my
sorrow) but his father changed his name to
Benjamin( son of my right hand)
Jacob and the conflict continues -3
• The struggle continues with his sons
– Struggles between loved and unloved wives spill
over to loved and unloved sons
– The favored son, Joseph, bring a bad report on
the shepherding behavior of his brothers
– Jacob gives Joseph a fancy special coat (of many
colors) and it drives his brothers nuts with envy
– And they capture Joseph, plan on killing him
• Judah intervenes and suggests selling them
• A band of Ishmaelites (yes more relatives) buy Joseph
and the special child is not ‘history’ is a seized on
opportunity
… I will not let you go until you bless
me…
Cruciformity in Israel’s life
• The tricker would be tricked many times
• Jacob would be Jacobed
• Jacobs struggles would work themselves our with struggles
with his brother, between his wives, between his children
• His favored wife stold her father’s idol which became a snare
to Jacob
• His favored son would be taken away but restored/
resurrected and the promises of God back in focus
• Jacob in fear meets Esau who has 400 men who could wipe
him out, and wrestles God all night who with a touch
dislocates his thigh sending Jacob to limp off to his ‘fre-
nemy’ Esau. Knowing God can with a touch kill him Jacob
holds on and asks for a blessing and is given it. And name
changed to Israel
– You have struggled with God and man and have prevailed
– Jacob’s struggle was with God not his brother… not his uncle… not
his wives or sons…
Jacob sleeping on a
stone, dreaming of
angels going up and
down from heaven on
a ladder
From
http://
wildbranches.blogspot
.com/2012/10/who-is-
rock.html
Jesus in Jacob’s life
• Note the names of the son’s of Jacob’
– Reuben – viewing (or behold) the son
– Simeon – hearing and obeying
– Levi – joining or cleaving to
– Judah – confession or praise of God
– Zebulon – home or dwelling place
– Issachar – reward or what is given by way of reward
– Dan – judging
– Gad – a company
– Asher – happy or blessed (blessings). This word is always in the
plural form.
– Naphtali – a wrestler or striving with
– Joseph – added, an addition
– Benomi - son of my sorrow becomes Benjamin – son of the right
hand
• See http://12tribesministries.com/about/why-the-name/
Grace in the life of Jacob
• When Esau and Jacob meet again, Jacob’s language is
full of references to grace, Esau’s is not
• Genesis 32:10 I am not worthy of the least of all the
deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you
have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I
crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.
• Genesis 33:5 And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw
the women and children, he said, “Who are these with
you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has
graciously given your servant.”
• Genesis 33:11 Please accept my blessing that is
brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with
me, and because I have enough.” Thus he urged him,
and he took it.
Some sad cases of women abuse
• Sarah gives her servant Hagar to Abram, then
deals harshly with Hagar when (as she planned
Hagar is with child)
• Dinah is raped
• Tamar is abused various ways (by Judah and
sons)
(Ironically there are two Tamar’s: one in
Genesis and one in 2 Sam 13 and both abused
by men different ways)
Tamar’s brothers over-react
• Ironically, the other Tamar (in 2 Sam 13)
also has a brother who attacks and kills
the perpetrator and all the men of his city
• Because they enact vengeance on a city,
Jacob fears for their safety from
surrounding cities banding together
• Yet God protects them, causing a fear to
fall on the surrounding cities.
And in contrast to the unfaithfulness of
Judah and the story of Tamar
• Joseph is dealt some tough circumstances
but remains faithful
• and in the providence of God becomes a
savior figure, even to the ‘sinners’ who
sold him out
Unfaithful Judah – a dark interlude – 1

but a dawn follows
• Joseph’s coat now soaked in goat blood is
shown to Jacob with a story of the
demise of Joe by a beast (and the tricker
is tricked again)
• Judah intervened in stopping the Jo Bro’s
from killing Joseph
• However he may now be alienated by the
situation of deceiving his father
Unfaithful Judah – a dark interlude – 2

but a dawn follows
• Judah is at a cave in the dead sea the David will use, far from
home
• He married away form home and raises children, who are
unrighteous and God kills one, then another
• Tamar, the widow should have been given a surrogate husband of
Judah’s sons to raise up a child in her dead husband’s name but
Judah chose not to
• And at the barley harvest when men are away from home, Tamar
poses as a prostitute and snags Judah and has a child to raise up
the name of her dead husband
• Judah’s story of unfaithfulness will proceed the story of Joseph
and his remarkable faithfulness
• Judah himself makes some exemplary choices in the account of
Joseph following
• Jesus identifies with sinners and outcasts, Judah and Tamar (as
well as Ruth, Rachab and Bathsheba) being in his genealogy
Faithful Joseph – 

rejected, suffering and raised - 1
• Joseph is sold by the Ishmaelites to a high
ranking man working for Pharaoh
• The man’s home is blessed by Joseph
• The man’s wife is attracted to Joseph and
trouble shortly follows
• Joseph is faithful but given trumped up
attempted rape charges
• Joseph is jailed
Faithful Joseph – 

rejected, suffering and raised - 2
• Two jailed food workers look very depressed
• When asked tell Joseph about dream problems
• Disturbing dreams and what to they mean?
• And Joseph volunteers to interpret
• Within 3 days he tells them one will be
restored and the other executed
• It comes about
• And the one restored, the other executed and
Joseph’s help forgotten
Joseph in Egypt
From the trailer for Joseph from ‘Sight and Sound’ Lancaster, PA for
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09k8d4_Y4fY
… the Lord was with Joseph and he had
success…
Faithful Joseph – 

rejected, suffering and raised - 3
• Disturbing dreams by Pharaoh's of cows eating
and corn eating corn
• And the baker remembers Joseph
• And Joseph is called to interpret
• 7 years of plenty
• 7 years of famine
• Preparations must be made
• And Joseph goes from jail to prime minister of
Egypt and a new title ‘Zaphrath Panea’
Faithful Joseph – 

rejected, suffering and raised - 4
• A bumper crop of 7 years with grain saved
follows and Egypt is saved
• And all the world falls into 7 years of famine
• And starts to come to Egypt (and Joseph) for
help
• Joseph’s dream of 12 stars bowing to him
(his brothers and sun and moon (parents,
although his mother is now gone) is coming
to pass
Faithful Joseph – 

redemption for the Jo Bros
• A test for Joseph’s brothers of his making
– Did the brothers harm the new favored son,
Benjamin?
– Will they abandon Benjamin in Egypt given a
chance
• And redemption.
– Judah offers to take the place of Benjamin
(and becomes a picture of Christ who
redeems his brethren)
Genesis 50:20
“Even though you intended to do harm
to me, God intended it for good, in
order to preserve a numerous people,
as he is doing today.”
Joseph
Cruciformity in the life of Joseph
• Young Joseph may have been
– naïve in sharing his dreams
– undiplomatic in how he gave a bad report on His brothers
– Wearing the favored multicolored coat when checking on them
may have been unwise.
• An older Joseph learned patience, grace and to lean on
the sovereignty of God
– Gen 50: 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for
good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many
lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and
your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to
them.
Joseph like Jesus
• God had a plan to save the sinners (his brothers)
• And it involved virtually killing Joseph (by selling
him as a slave)
• But God raised Joseph up seating him at the right
hand of power
• Gentiles saved because of Joseph from famine
• Joseph’s brothers eventually saved from famine
• Joseph was an advocate in the royal court for his
brothers
• Joseph looked forward to a resurrection (of his
bones being brought to the promised land)
Grace in the life of Joseph
• Genesis 39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and
showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the
sight of the keeper of the prison.
• Genesis 50:20 “Even though you intended to do harm to
me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a
numerous people, as he is doing today.”
Israel the person blessing Israel the
coming nation through his sons
• Israel blesses his sons and grandchildren
• He crosses his hands between Ephraim and
Manasseh
– Manasseh starts the largest tribe then goes to the
smallest… Ephraim becomes the largest
• He chides but blesses Levi who will be
scattered over Israel
– But as priests scattered teachers would be a
blessing
• He promises the Messiah through Judah
Some aspects of the story helpful

to the generation led to the land by Moses/Joshua
• Many things happen in Genesis analogous to the Jews leaving
Egypt and entering the promised land
– God chooses Abraham to command his descendants to keep
the law
– Abraham is a model of faith
– Abraham has a war for his relative Lot’s family
– Abraham divides the land between himself and Lot
– Abraham goes to Egypt and there are plagues and Pharoah
sends him out with riches
– Noah curses Canaan… they will enter the land of Canaan
– Joseph made them promise to bring his bones to the
promised land
– Abraham had a vision of them being slaves for centuries but
coming out in power and going to the promised land
Jacob dies, buried in the promised land
And the book closes



• Genesis starts with glory and ends with a groan
and a portending of centuries of slavery in Egypt
• The patriarchs all buried.
– Jacob recounts Rachel dying, being buried, in
Bethlehem. Leah buried with Abraham and Sarah,
Isaac and Rachel in the tomb of Machpelah. Then
Jacob also dies, also buried there
• A future resurrection.
– Joseph charges his brothers to bring his own bones to
the promised land in the far future.
• And a redeemed people would be born as if ‘from
nothing’: from an old man, from slavery , from
wandering years in a dessert
A slight preview…
• The world was “Tofu v’bofu” or “tohu wa-bohu”— formless
and void
• The phrase “Tofu v’bofu” appears again regarding the
wanderings in the wilderness, where the wilderness is “Tofu
v’bofu” such as Deut 32:10
• In a sense, the world is made out of a formless void and a
nation is as well comes out of a formless and void wilderness
see http://biblehub.com/hebrew/8414.htm
The reformer, Martin Luther, once
said, “God made the world out of
nothing. It is only when we become
nothing that God can make
something out of us.
Fin

The Genesis of Grace

  • 1.
  • 2.
    A people Walking byfaith in the cruciformity of life And a picture painted of the one Who from, through, to and for all things were made The Genesis of Grace An overview of Genesis
  • 4.
    ‘Let there be’ ‘andthere was’ ‘and God saw it was good’ In the beginning God…
  • 5.
    In the beginning
 God… •God created, hovered, separated, called, said, saw, finished and blessed in the first chapter • 7 words (in Hebrew) in the first verse • 7 days in the first chapter 7 times said good ( last being very good regarding Adam and Eve )
  • 6.
    10 accounts creation fall, flood, nations, Recordsof generations: Shem’s line , Terah’s line Ishmael’s line, Isaac’s line Esau’s line, Jacob’s line And with it the story of Joseph Israel the person becomes Israel the nation In the beginning, God…
  • 7.
    • The patternused for day: • a morning • an evening • a numbered day
  • 8.
    The garden imagerywill come back later (a few being as follows) • In the garden imagery of the temple, such as the Holy Place and Holy of Holies • The temptation of Adam in the garden will contrast with Jesus temptations in the wilderness • The evening and morning imagery comes bak in Book 1 of the Psalms which poetically is like Genesis • Men and animals will eat plant stuff with no mention of death (of those with the breath of life)
  • 9.
    • 4 greatevents – Creation – Fall – Flood – Babel • 4 great people – Abraham – Isaac – Jacob – Joseph
  • 10.
    A story ofgrace • Grace for Adam and Eve – Covering of animals – They didn’t immediately physically die – Promise of a redeemer • Fratricide of Able – Followed by a grace and protection from vengeance for Cain • An expansive violence on the earth – Followed by grace for Noah • An expansive judgment of the earth – Followed by an expansive grace for Abraham – And sanctifying grace working in the lives of the patriarchs
  • 11.
    Adam and Christ •Adamtempted in garden, •Jesus tempted in dessert •Adam brought death, • Jesus gives life •Adam left paradise, • Jesus grants paradise •Adam ruled the garden, •Jesus rules the universe •Adam lived for a time, •Jesus lives forever
  • 12.
    10 Accounts told
 generations,records.. • Prologue – Genesis 1 • Creation – Genesis 2:4 [ Adam and Eve ] This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. • Flood – Genesis 6:9 [ Noah and the Flood ] This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. • Nations – Genesis 10:1 [ The Table of Nations ] This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood. • Shem – Genesis 11:10 [ From Shem to Abram ] This is the account of Shem’s family line. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad • Terah Abram’s father – Genesis 11:27 [ Abram’s Family ] This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. • Ishmael then Isaac – Genesis 25:12 Ishmael’s Sons ] This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraha – Genesis 25:19 [ Jacob and Esau ] This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, • Essau , Essau’s line then Jacob – Genesis 36:1 This is the account of the family line of Esau (that is, Edom). – Genesis 36:9 This is the account of the family line of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. – Genesis 37:2 This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
  • 13.
    Move 1 -Movingfrom no picture 
 to big picture… • The world was “Tofu v’bofu” - formless and void • Let there be: – The world was separated in days 1, 2, 3 – The world was filled in days 4, 5, 6 – 7 times declared good • Let us make, in our image – Man said ‘made in God’s image’ 3 times – To reflect on and reflect God’s glory – Man was made, the first marriage happened – And it was ‘very good’ • Blessings were upon the 7th day – the animals, the image bearers and on the 7th day ( which also is the only use of the word holy in the book, for the Sabbath) – And God rested
  • 14.
    Move 2 -Moving from big picture 
 to mankind… • Creation told of the world in Genesis 1 – God created, hovered, separated, called, said, saw, finished, blessed • Creation told from another point of view in Genesis 2 and 3 – God made, had not caused rain, put man in garden, commanded, said, caused a deep sleep, sound of God walking, called, cursed, sent, appointed, created • Man was the crown in Genesis 1 • But not in Genesis 2 and 3 man is also the focus
  • 15.
    Move 3 -Moving from a very good world
 to a sin broken world… • Sin enters the picture in Genesis 4 • Man sinned and a curse of death enters the world ( although marred by sin the angels in Isaiah still say this present ‘heaven and earth are filled with Your Glory’ and in Titus ‘everything created by God is good’)
  • 16.
    Jesus in theopening of Genesis
 before the fall • Light from darkness points to a work of God in the gospel and changed hearts previously dark • The word of God making the world is Jesus • The sun and moon appearing midst week is like the incarnation midst history • The Man like the tree of life in Psalm 1 is Jesus • The Man with dominion over creation in Psalm 8 is Jesus, the second Adam • Adam tending and guarding the garden uses the same terms as a priest portending Jesus as high priest • Marriage is a picture of Christ and the church • Adam gets a wife when he sleeps and from his side. Jesus sleeps the sleep of death and speared on his side the bride of Christ, the church is born.
  • 18.
    Jesus in theopening of Genesis
 after the fall • The seed of the woman portends the virgin birth • Death enters the world and the ground yields thorns but Jesus enters death and wears the crown of thorns • The covering of Adam and Eve with animal skins (who had to die) portends the atonement • The blood of Jesus speaks better than the blood of Abel
  • 19.
    And a serpentmotif
 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Romans 16:20 • The serpent will strike His (the coming Messiah) heel but he will crush the serpent’s head • And the seed of the serpent will strike at the heal of the godly while they will crush the head of the serpent (through history) • Will the coming one be King Saul who defeats a serpent king in an early battle? No • Will the coming one be King David who defeats Goliath in his scaly serpent like armor? No • Note the serpent headdress of Pharaoh
  • 20.
    Some say youcan divide the Bible in half right here • A good world, now fallen ( Genesis 1-4) • The progress of redemption ( everything after)
  • 21.
    Watch the orderof genealogies… The chosen is last • Seth after Cain • Shem after Japheth and Ham • Isaac after Ishmael • Jacob after Essau
  • 22.
    Death is therule… …and he died… …and he died… …and he died… …and he died… …and he died… …and he died… But… the 7th (unsurprisingly) from Adam Enoch walks with God and was not for God took him… not dying… and being great grandfather to Noah
  • 23.
    Death is therule… …and he died… …and he died… …and he died… …and he died… …and he died… …and he died… But… the 7th (unsurprisingly) from Adam Enoch walks with God and was not for God took him… not dying… and being great grandfather to Noah
  • 24.
    … and wecan pause to reflect on why the book was written…
 
 Important questions for anyone
 Especially important questions to the generation leaving Egypt to enter the promised land
 
 • The nature of God • The nature of man • Where did we come from • Where are we going to • The need for redemption • Why are we doing what we’re doing?
  • 25.
    … man beganto call on the name of God… at that time • And yet it seems their religion was shallow • And the world was filled with violence
  • 26.
    Sin and deathreigning - many lived and died with one exception (and a godly line) • Enoch in the 7th Generation – Walks with God and was not for God took him • His son, Lamech (dying 5 years before the flood) • His son, Methuselah (dying the year of the flood) • His son, Noah (born close to the death of Adam)
  • 27.
    A line pointingto Jesus, some point out the series of names are: Hebrew Noah Rest, or comfort. English Adam Man Seth Appointed Enosh Mortal Kenan Sorrpw Mahalalel The blessed God Jared Shall come down Enoch Teaching Methuselah His death shall bring Lamech The Despairing Noah Rest, or comfort.
  • 28.
    About those genealogies…. •Seems the not chosen tends to be first • In the generations up to Noah there are only two recorded sayings of the people in the genealogy recounting… and both named Lamech • the first brags to his wives how he killed a youth for disrespecting him • the second prophesies about Noah his son and how Noah will give us rest from the land
  • 29.
    and more onthose genealogies • some argue that perhaps there are gaps in the genealogies • the pattern used makes that difficult : • a man fathering a son • when the son is a certain age has the next generation in the genealogy • there are abbreviated genealogies in the Bible such as Zephaniah but not in the this same unbroken pattern as genesis
  • 30.
    About the timeof Noah • Unusual events leading up to the flood in the life of Lamech (the good one, Noah’s father) • Adam died in his life • Enoch (Lamech’s father) was taken away • Noah giving us rest from the land was prophesied by Lamacq • Men were calling on the name of the Lord (at least in Lamech’s line)
  • 31.
    In the timeup to the flood, God… • took Enoch, saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh said, remembered, made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Promised that when the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember not to destroy the earth with a flood
  • 32.
    … but Noahfound grace in the eyes of the Lord…
  • 33.
    The Flood • Theentire epoch of Noah is literarily put together not haphazardly but as a large chiasm and an interesting outline is given by: https:// www.thegospelcoalition.org/ article/9-things-you-should-know- about-the-story-of-noah
  • 34.
    about that wind… • In Genesis 1 ‘the Spirit of God hovered over the waters • In the account of Noah, God sent a wind to cause the waters to recede • In the Exodus, God sent an east wind to dry the waters of the red sea to let the Israelites walk on dry ground
  • 35.
    The flood
 picture formArk Encounter in Kentucky
  • 36.
    Grace in Noah •Noah is born in history shortly following Adam’s death, calling for attention of the world • The Ark itself would be a object lesson of the need for repentance and coming judgment to anyone seeing it in progress • God patiently waited a hundred years for the Ark to be built • The first occurrence of the word ‘grace’ in the Bible is Gen 6:8 ‘.. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord…’
  • 37.
    Cruciformity in Noah •The future life span of man would be limited to less than the time it took to build the ark and this would be apparent to Noah’s family • The Bible says that Noah was one of only two men in all of history who “walked with God (the other being his great grandfather, Enoch)
  • 38.
    Jesus in Noah •Noah offered a sacrifice after the flood and God promised never to destroy the earth with a flood portends Jesus sacrifice for the world • Noah is the one who will give us ‘rest from our work’ • In the Ark Noah is ‘lifted off the ground’ • There is one door and it is opened until the rain came • Being saved through the water portends baptism where Jesus is the Ark and Jesus is the one door on the Ark. • The resurrection of the world, post flood portends the resurrection of Christ
  • 39.
    And nations bornafter the flood • Mankind is at Babel • Fearing God, but not following God • Build ‘a tower’ in case God sends the flood he said he would not – Let us ‘brick bricks’ Let us build – Let us burn burn Let use harden the bricks – Very humanistic… a vestige of religion • And languages are confused by God and man scatters • And… man largely falls back into idolatry…
  • 40.
    A covenant forthe world • God promises not to destroy the world with a flood AFTER one man, Noah offers sacrifice (looking forward to the one sacrifice of Jesus) • God’s bow now in the clouds and pointing toward the man in heaven (Jesus) In Hebrew the word is simply bow. See http://feedingonchrist.com/the-symbolism-of-the-rainbow/
  • 41.
    And after limitingthe lifetime of man for the world… • God gives a blessing in the life of a couple growing too to have children ( a blessing in the midst of the restraint of length of life) • The man without children, Abram, would become a blessing for all families on earth • And a people born ‘out of nothing’ as it were • Abram had parents who were idol worshipers and lived in a place that worshiped idols and called out of it.
  • 42.
    Babel and thescattering of nations By Peter Bruegel the Elder 1563
  • 43.
    Genesis 12:1-4a Now theLord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. – I will make of you a great nation, and – I will bless you, and – make your name great, so that – you will be a blessing. – I will bless those who bless you, an – the one who curses you I will curse; and – in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him… 7 blessings
  • 44.
    … and Abrambelieved God and it was counted as righteousness…
  • 45.
    From Abram toAbraham - 1 • Told to ‘walk before Me and be blameless’ • Promised a child waits 10 years • Deals with some fears • Deals with some doubts • Makes some bad choices
  • 46.
    From Abram toAbraham - 2 • Sarai gives him her Egyptian servant Hagar to have a child in her name • Hagar becomes ‘with child’ • Hagar is treated harshly and runs away • God names the child ‘Ishmael’ God hears, for God has heard your cries and tells Hagar to return to Sarai • God makes the promise that Ismael with have 12 princes some day
  • 47.
    Abraham’s descendants willbe like the stars that can’t be counted Taken from https://redthreadoflove.com/2013/07/21/promise-giver- promise-keeper/
  • 48.
    From Abram toAbraham - 3 • After Ishmael is about 12…. • God promises a son to Sarai (Abram’s wife) • Abram asks why Ishmael can’t be the heir • Abram and Sarai are renamed – Abraham (was father not father of nations) – Sarah (was princess now also princess)
  • 49.
    A deep darkness,a flash of light, and it’s over…. Did you miss it? - 1 • A dark time – Lot and Abram have issues over land use – Abram offers Lot first choice – Lot chooses poorly and heads next to Sodom with it’s deceptively attractive appearance – Kings attack, Lot’s family taken, Abraham mounts a rescue successfully – And in the midst of a corrupt King of Sodom’s conversation an interruption
  • 50.
    A deep darkness,a flash of light, and it’s over…. Did you miss it? - 2 • A Flash of light – interrupting the King of Sodom mid sentence – Melchizadek, the priest king of Jebus (will be Jerusalem) appears bringing bread and wine – A priest of God most high, with no genealogy listed – And in Psalm 109, 110 a picture of the Messiah – And then he’s gone as fast as he came
  • 51.
    From Abram toAbraham - 4 • Isaac is born – Sarah casts out Ishmael – But God has promised Ishmael 12 children • Abraham will have been ready to give up his sons – Lot his nephew (like a son taken away) – Ishmael (cast out by Sarah, grieved Abraham but God told him to do as Sarah asked) – Now asked to sacrifice Isaac and would Abraham?
  • 52.
    ‘…we will return…’
 and two happy men return from the mountain Genesis 22:5  He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Hebrews 11:8  By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
  • 53.
    Cruciformity in Abram’slife • Abram’s fears – He feared losing Sarah and lied – God would have Abram get a group of men and retrieve his relatives waging war • God increased Abram’s prayers for others – Before Isaac was born God had Abram pray for the wives of Abimelech, a Philistine King, that they might have children – Sometimes a blessing comes after looking outside yourself helping others ( God healed Job after he prayed for his friends) • God stretched Abrams Faith – Abram tried to help God in areas God didn’t need help – God did more than he asked or hoped for – Not just a father of an heir but father of nations • God did more than Abram asked or hoped for – He was promised a child at 76 – Went Abram died Isaac was about 76
  • 54.
    Jesus in Abraham’slife • All families will be blessed in Abraham’s seed (singular – Jesus) – See Psalm 89 which makes use of singular seed of David, and Abraham • Abraham was willing to offer Isaac knowing God promised his blessing through Isaac portending a resurrection • The encounter with Melchizedek the priest king portends Jesus and priest king – See psalms 109 and 110 of a mini drama on the poor man helped in 109 and lifted to the right hand of God on the order of Melchizadek
  • 55.
    Genesis 21:5  Abraham wasa hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
  • 56.
    Grace in thelife of Abraham • Grace overflowing, where he was blessed to be a blessing (of all families) • Although Abram came from a family and tradition of idol worship (his relative’s names relate to moon worship) he was given grace to know the true God
  • 57.
    Isaac, a transitionalfigure - 1 • Sarah dies • Abraham sends the steward of his house to get a wife for Isaac – He travels to Abraham's relative – He sees the cousin at a well ( the first romantic well story since Isaac, Jacob and Moses all get their wives in similar way) • After Isaac is remarried and Sarah gone, Abraham marries Keturah – And has 6 more sons – And an unknown number of daughters
  • 58.
    Isaac, a transitionalfigure - 2 • Rebecca is barren, but Isaac prays and God lets Rebecca conceive (Gen 25:21) • Rebecca becomes ‘with child’ and there is a war in her womb • God tells her there are two nations fighting inside her but ‘the older shall serve the younger’ – Esau is born first – Jacob is born grasping at his heal • A family divided – Mom (Rebecca) favors Jacob, the stay at home type – Dad (Isaac) favors Esau the outdoor hunter type
  • 59.
    Isaac, a transitionalfigure - 3 • The struggle over a birthright – Esau sells his birthright (as first born) for a meal cooked by Jacob – When Isaac is old, he will bless Esau and Jacob dresses up as Esau, and successfully steals the blessing – Esau is angry, threatens to kill Jacob and Jacob flees – Rebecca never sees Isaac again
  • 60.
    Grace in thelife of Isaac • Shown in the provision of a wife at the well Genesis 24:49 Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.” • Shuddered when he realized he blessed Jacob instead of Esau and learned a lesson of God’s gracious choice • God acted to bring Isaac back to the promised land when he went to Egypt
  • 61.
    Cruciformity in Isaac’slife • Isaac learned (the hard way) his choice can be overridden by God’s choice as to which child will be heir • Isaac was to stay in the promised land (Canaan) but went to Egypt • While Abram saying Sarah was his sister was a half truth, Isaac saying similar of Rebecca was not true at all • He would come back but that was a mistake • Isaac’s favoring of Esau would cause Jacob to flea home for the rest of his life • Esau and Isaac meeting again at Isaac’s funeral
  • 62.
    Jesus in Isaac •Isaac slept on a rock and had a dream of a ladder that angels went between heaven and earth ( Jesus is the ladder )
  • 63.
    Jacob and theconflict continues -1 • The struggle continues with his wives – Jacob flees to Laban’s home, and meets his future wife (Rachel, God’s lamb) at a well (as did Isaac) – Jacob agrees to work 7 years to marry Rachel – Jacob the tricker is Jacob’ed by Laban – He is given the wrong bride, Leah (not as pretty and not the one he loved) – He must work 7 more years and now is married to Leah – the unloved and Rachel – the loved
  • 64.
    … about that redguy, Esau • He trades his birthright for a bowl of food • and God sends a famine
  • 65.
    Jacob and theconflict continues -2 • The struggle continues with his wives – Rachel, the loved, has no children – Leah has many Reuben, Simeon, Judah… – Rachel, the loved wife, has Joseph, the loved son – And there are more sons born to Leah and her servants – Rachel dies giving birth to Benami (son of my sorrow) but his father changed his name to Benjamin( son of my right hand)
  • 66.
    Jacob and theconflict continues -3 • The struggle continues with his sons – Struggles between loved and unloved wives spill over to loved and unloved sons – The favored son, Joseph, bring a bad report on the shepherding behavior of his brothers – Jacob gives Joseph a fancy special coat (of many colors) and it drives his brothers nuts with envy – And they capture Joseph, plan on killing him • Judah intervenes and suggests selling them • A band of Ishmaelites (yes more relatives) buy Joseph and the special child is not ‘history’ is a seized on opportunity
  • 67.
    … I willnot let you go until you bless me…
  • 68.
    Cruciformity in Israel’slife • The tricker would be tricked many times • Jacob would be Jacobed • Jacobs struggles would work themselves our with struggles with his brother, between his wives, between his children • His favored wife stold her father’s idol which became a snare to Jacob • His favored son would be taken away but restored/ resurrected and the promises of God back in focus • Jacob in fear meets Esau who has 400 men who could wipe him out, and wrestles God all night who with a touch dislocates his thigh sending Jacob to limp off to his ‘fre- nemy’ Esau. Knowing God can with a touch kill him Jacob holds on and asks for a blessing and is given it. And name changed to Israel – You have struggled with God and man and have prevailed – Jacob’s struggle was with God not his brother… not his uncle… not his wives or sons…
  • 69.
    Jacob sleeping ona stone, dreaming of angels going up and down from heaven on a ladder From http:// wildbranches.blogspot .com/2012/10/who-is- rock.html
  • 70.
    Jesus in Jacob’slife • Note the names of the son’s of Jacob’ – Reuben – viewing (or behold) the son – Simeon – hearing and obeying – Levi – joining or cleaving to – Judah – confession or praise of God – Zebulon – home or dwelling place – Issachar – reward or what is given by way of reward – Dan – judging – Gad – a company – Asher – happy or blessed (blessings). This word is always in the plural form. – Naphtali – a wrestler or striving with – Joseph – added, an addition – Benomi - son of my sorrow becomes Benjamin – son of the right hand • See http://12tribesministries.com/about/why-the-name/
  • 71.
    Grace in thelife of Jacob • When Esau and Jacob meet again, Jacob’s language is full of references to grace, Esau’s is not • Genesis 32:10 I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. • Genesis 33:5 And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” • Genesis 33:11 Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” Thus he urged him, and he took it.
  • 72.
    Some sad casesof women abuse • Sarah gives her servant Hagar to Abram, then deals harshly with Hagar when (as she planned Hagar is with child) • Dinah is raped • Tamar is abused various ways (by Judah and sons) (Ironically there are two Tamar’s: one in Genesis and one in 2 Sam 13 and both abused by men different ways)
  • 73.
    Tamar’s brothers over-react •Ironically, the other Tamar (in 2 Sam 13) also has a brother who attacks and kills the perpetrator and all the men of his city • Because they enact vengeance on a city, Jacob fears for their safety from surrounding cities banding together • Yet God protects them, causing a fear to fall on the surrounding cities.
  • 74.
    And in contrastto the unfaithfulness of Judah and the story of Tamar • Joseph is dealt some tough circumstances but remains faithful • and in the providence of God becomes a savior figure, even to the ‘sinners’ who sold him out
  • 75.
    Unfaithful Judah –a dark interlude – 1
 but a dawn follows • Joseph’s coat now soaked in goat blood is shown to Jacob with a story of the demise of Joe by a beast (and the tricker is tricked again) • Judah intervened in stopping the Jo Bro’s from killing Joseph • However he may now be alienated by the situation of deceiving his father
  • 76.
    Unfaithful Judah –a dark interlude – 2
 but a dawn follows • Judah is at a cave in the dead sea the David will use, far from home • He married away form home and raises children, who are unrighteous and God kills one, then another • Tamar, the widow should have been given a surrogate husband of Judah’s sons to raise up a child in her dead husband’s name but Judah chose not to • And at the barley harvest when men are away from home, Tamar poses as a prostitute and snags Judah and has a child to raise up the name of her dead husband • Judah’s story of unfaithfulness will proceed the story of Joseph and his remarkable faithfulness • Judah himself makes some exemplary choices in the account of Joseph following • Jesus identifies with sinners and outcasts, Judah and Tamar (as well as Ruth, Rachab and Bathsheba) being in his genealogy
  • 77.
    Faithful Joseph –
 rejected, suffering and raised - 1 • Joseph is sold by the Ishmaelites to a high ranking man working for Pharaoh • The man’s home is blessed by Joseph • The man’s wife is attracted to Joseph and trouble shortly follows • Joseph is faithful but given trumped up attempted rape charges • Joseph is jailed
  • 78.
    Faithful Joseph –
 rejected, suffering and raised - 2 • Two jailed food workers look very depressed • When asked tell Joseph about dream problems • Disturbing dreams and what to they mean? • And Joseph volunteers to interpret • Within 3 days he tells them one will be restored and the other executed • It comes about • And the one restored, the other executed and Joseph’s help forgotten
  • 79.
    Joseph in Egypt Fromthe trailer for Joseph from ‘Sight and Sound’ Lancaster, PA for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09k8d4_Y4fY
  • 80.
    … the Lordwas with Joseph and he had success…
  • 81.
    Faithful Joseph –
 rejected, suffering and raised - 3 • Disturbing dreams by Pharaoh's of cows eating and corn eating corn • And the baker remembers Joseph • And Joseph is called to interpret • 7 years of plenty • 7 years of famine • Preparations must be made • And Joseph goes from jail to prime minister of Egypt and a new title ‘Zaphrath Panea’
  • 82.
    Faithful Joseph –
 rejected, suffering and raised - 4 • A bumper crop of 7 years with grain saved follows and Egypt is saved • And all the world falls into 7 years of famine • And starts to come to Egypt (and Joseph) for help • Joseph’s dream of 12 stars bowing to him (his brothers and sun and moon (parents, although his mother is now gone) is coming to pass
  • 83.
    Faithful Joseph –
 redemption for the Jo Bros • A test for Joseph’s brothers of his making – Did the brothers harm the new favored son, Benjamin? – Will they abandon Benjamin in Egypt given a chance • And redemption. – Judah offers to take the place of Benjamin (and becomes a picture of Christ who redeems his brethren)
  • 84.
    Genesis 50:20 “Even thoughyou intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.” Joseph
  • 85.
    Cruciformity in thelife of Joseph • Young Joseph may have been – naïve in sharing his dreams – undiplomatic in how he gave a bad report on His brothers – Wearing the favored multicolored coat when checking on them may have been unwise. • An older Joseph learned patience, grace and to lean on the sovereignty of God – Gen 50: 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
  • 86.
    Joseph like Jesus •God had a plan to save the sinners (his brothers) • And it involved virtually killing Joseph (by selling him as a slave) • But God raised Joseph up seating him at the right hand of power • Gentiles saved because of Joseph from famine • Joseph’s brothers eventually saved from famine • Joseph was an advocate in the royal court for his brothers • Joseph looked forward to a resurrection (of his bones being brought to the promised land)
  • 87.
    Grace in thelife of Joseph • Genesis 39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. • Genesis 50:20 “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.”
  • 88.
    Israel the personblessing Israel the coming nation through his sons • Israel blesses his sons and grandchildren • He crosses his hands between Ephraim and Manasseh – Manasseh starts the largest tribe then goes to the smallest… Ephraim becomes the largest • He chides but blesses Levi who will be scattered over Israel – But as priests scattered teachers would be a blessing • He promises the Messiah through Judah
  • 89.
    Some aspects ofthe story helpful
 to the generation led to the land by Moses/Joshua • Many things happen in Genesis analogous to the Jews leaving Egypt and entering the promised land – God chooses Abraham to command his descendants to keep the law – Abraham is a model of faith – Abraham has a war for his relative Lot’s family – Abraham divides the land between himself and Lot – Abraham goes to Egypt and there are plagues and Pharoah sends him out with riches – Noah curses Canaan… they will enter the land of Canaan – Joseph made them promise to bring his bones to the promised land – Abraham had a vision of them being slaves for centuries but coming out in power and going to the promised land
  • 90.
    Jacob dies, buriedin the promised land
  • 91.
    And the bookcloses
 
 • Genesis starts with glory and ends with a groan and a portending of centuries of slavery in Egypt • The patriarchs all buried. – Jacob recounts Rachel dying, being buried, in Bethlehem. Leah buried with Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rachel in the tomb of Machpelah. Then Jacob also dies, also buried there • A future resurrection. – Joseph charges his brothers to bring his own bones to the promised land in the far future. • And a redeemed people would be born as if ‘from nothing’: from an old man, from slavery , from wandering years in a dessert
  • 93.
    A slight preview… •The world was “Tofu v’bofu” or “tohu wa-bohu”— formless and void • The phrase “Tofu v’bofu” appears again regarding the wanderings in the wilderness, where the wilderness is “Tofu v’bofu” such as Deut 32:10 • In a sense, the world is made out of a formless void and a nation is as well comes out of a formless and void wilderness see http://biblehub.com/hebrew/8414.htm
  • 94.
    The reformer, MartinLuther, once said, “God made the world out of nothing. It is only when we become nothing that God can make something out of us.
  • 95.