Tanakh (Old Testament) Reading
Genesis 16-18
Genesis 19 & 20; Psalm 1
Genesis 21-23; Psalm 107
Genesis 24 & 25; Psalm 4
Genesis 26 & 27
B’rit Hadashah (New Covenant, or New Testament) Reading
Mark 6
Mark 7
Mark 8
Mark 9
Mark 10
Last week was my first attempt at a blog post. It was TOO LONG. I’ll try to keep this one shorter.
Thoughts about Genesis 16 through 27
Chapter 16. It’s easy to blame Abram and Sarai for getting ahead of God’s plan for them to have their very own baby, but Abram was 86(!) when Yishma’el (Ishmael) was born to their Egyptian servant Hagar. Can you be sympathetic to their impatience? It was a long wait from the first promise until Isaac was born …
Chapter 17. We learn more detail on the Abrahamic Covenant, which includes circumcision.
After God changes their names, the famous couple become Abraham (“father of many”) and Sarah (“princess.”)
Chapters 18 and 19. God tells Abraham his plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah; Abraham negotiates (with God!) to not destroy them if there are ten righteous people there.
Two angels drag Lot and his family away before they destroy the cities. Mrs. Lot looks back toward home longingly, and is somehow transmogrified into a pillar of salt. The two daughters show how badly they were influenced by being raised in a godless environment, and produce incestuous offspring from their father:
The older daughter gives birth to Mo’av (Moab), the progenitor of the Moabites, a tribe that was later often at war with Israel.
The younger daughter produces Ben-‘Ammi, the progenitor of the Ammonites, another tribe that was often in conflict with the Israelites. It’s difficult to raise god-fearing children, but it’s REALLY DIFFICULT to so in a toxic environment that hates God and his laws. What do you think about this issue?
Chapter 20. Abraham uses the “say you’re my sister” trick with Sarah again. God saves them both. Again.
Chapter 21. finally, Finally, FINALLY, we get to meet Yitz’chak (Isaac, which means “laughter”)! Do you feel the joy?
There is conflict between Ishmael and Isaac, so Sarah demands to have Ishmael sent away. Abraham does so reluctantly. Do you feel the pain?
Chapter 22. One of the most amazing passages in the Bible, from my perspective: God orders Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Even though I know how the story ends, and I have read it many times and heard it taught many times, it has SHOCK VALUE. It’s a prophetic gesture that points to ADONAI offering his own son Yeshua (Jesus) at the same location about two thousand years later. Are you impressed by Abraham’s faith as he acted in obedience to God’s hard-to-believe command?
Chapter 23. Sarah dies at age 127; Abraham buys a plot of land for a cemetery.
Chapter 24. Abraham is old, so he sends servant back to the old country to find a wife for Isaac, who is grown up. We meet Rivkah (Rebecca), who agrees to go with the servant to marry a man she has never met, in a faraway land. What do you think of that adventuresome young lady?
Chapter 25. Abraham remarries a lady named K’turah (Keturah.) That’s a reasonable thing to do. They have a bunch of children. But giving everything to Isaac and sending away all the children from that second marriage seems like … trouble. What do you think?
Abraham dies at age 175.
Isaac and Rebecca are married twenty years before their twin sons are born:
• ‘Esav (Esau: “completely formed,” that is, “having hair already.”)
• Ya’akov (Jacob: “he catches by the heel,” “he supplants.”)
Esau sells his birthright.
Chapter 26. ADONAI appears to Isaac and confirms that the Abrahamic Covenant applies to him.
While he is living in Gerar, Isaac pulls the same “she is my sister” stunt that his father used. God protects them.
Isaac grows in wealth, and there is a lot of arguing about wells and water rights. They find water at a place they name Be’er-Sheva (Beersheba: “well of seven”)
Esau marries local women who make life miserable for Isaac and Rebecca. 1 Corinthians 6:14 Do not become unequally yoked with unbelievers…
Chapter 27. Jacob and Rebecca work together to fool Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing instead of Esau. As you would expect, Esau plans to kill his younger brother after his father dies. Rebecca tells him to go back to her family and find a wife there. What to you think of the dynamics of this family?
Thoughts about Psalms 1, 107, and 4
• Do you think Psalm 1 is a good fit to read along with Genesis 19 and 20? Or does it belong with Mark 7?
• How about Psalm 107: it is a good fit with Genesis 21 through 23? Or Mark 8?
• In my humble opinion, Psalm 4–which was written by David–should have been correlated to David’s life. I would have preferred to see it at the end of 2 Samuel 3, which is when Abner was willing to end the long civil war and help unite the nation under David. Or maybe you can explain how it fits with Genesis 24 and 25 or Mark 9.
Thoughts about Mark 6 through 10
These chapters are packed with wonderful stuff from the life of Jesus, but I overdid it again. I was trying to be brief compared to my previous post. I failed.
What do you want to discuss regarding this amazing passage from the ministry of Jesus?
