Questions on Genesis (1-2,3,4,6,11,12,13,15,16,17,18,21,27,28, 29)

General Articles: 

1. What is the point of Genesis?
2. Rethinking the phrase "Man Equals Mission" (Gen 1:26-28)

The God Who Made Everything (Gen 1:1-2:3)

1. What are some difficulties in studying the creation accounts in Genesis 1-2? How might we address them?
2. What is the author's message for Israel (the theme)? Why did he write this message to Israel (the goal)?
3. Who is God (Gen 1:1; Deut 6:4)? Why did God create the world (Ps 19:1-4; 1 Cor 10:31)? What does a talking God suggest? Could our God be a complex being, a complex unity (Gen 1:1-3;26)?
4. God created man in his own image (Gen 1:26-27). What are some similarities and differences between God and man?Blog post on Genesis 1-2, where some answers to the above questions are at the bottom.

Understanding the Gospel from the Fall (Gen 3:1-24)

1. How did the serpent tempt the woman? Why does not trusting the goodness of God always lead to sin (Gen 3:1,5)? What are 2 different ways of not trusting God (Luke 15:11-32)?
2. What do we lose and how do we act when we sin (Gen 3:7,22; cf. 2:25)? Reflect on this definition of shame: "that sense of unease with yourself at the depth of your being."
   
3. Instead of destroying man (Gen 2:16,17), what does God do (Gen 3:9, 15, 24)?
   

Here are some answers to the above questions.

Sin, Grace and Salvation (Gen 4:1-16)

1. What are the similarities/differences between Cain and Abel (4:3-4a)? What does “sin is crouching” tell us about sin (4:7)? How might it deceive us? How is it a power? Do you know your crouching sins?
2. How does God address Cain’s sin (4:6-7; Isa 9:6)? What kind of a God is God (4:15)? Why was Cain so angry (4:5)? What did Cain build his identity on? How is sin and grace always a factor in life?
3.  Why was Abel’s (not Cain’s) offering accepted (Heb 11:4; Eph 2:8-9)? What are the marks of Cain (4:5,8)?
4.  How is Jesus the true Abel (Heb 12:24)? Who killed the true Abel? How can we be a sweet Abel instead of an angry Cain (1 John 1:9)?
   Blog post that addresses the questions above.

The Pain of God's Heart (Gen 6:5-13)

1. What did God decide to do because of the escalating human violence in the world (Gen 6:11-13)? Why is God's judgment the first doctrine to be denied (Gen 3:4)?
2. How does God assess our human condition (Gen 6:5; Isa 64:6; Rom 3:9-11,23)?
   
3. How does God respond toward human violence, toward his own judgment (Gen 6:6)? Why (Isa 54:6; 49:15)?
   
4. How can God both judge the world and save the world at the same time? How is the flood a pattern of salvation/grace through judgment?
   
5. Think of how Noah is a sinner saved by grace (Gen 6:8; Eph 2:8,9; 2 Tim 1:9), protected by grace (Gen 7:1,16), and preserved by grace (Gen 8:21-22, 9:16, 20-21).
6. What does the rainbow teach us about the grace of God (Gen 9:9-17)?
7. How is the problem of Babel (Gen 11:3-4; cf. 9:1; 1:28) our own sinful default (Gen 3:22; Acts 1:6)? How is God's way different (Gen 12:2-3; 28:12-15)?

The Lord Came Down To See (Gen 11:1-9)

1. What is the advantage of a common language (Gen 11:1)? Why did people move east (Gen 11:2; 3:24; 4:16)? In Gen 11:4, notice 2 expressions of rebellion and 2 underlying motives (sins) of man (Gen 3:5; Dan 4:30)?
2. Why is "making a name for oneself" defying God (Isa 14:13; 63:12,14; Jer 32:20; Neh 9:10)? How can a man's name become great (12:2; 2 Sam 7:9; Phil 2:9-11)? Why is "not wanting to be scattered" a sin against God (Gen 1:28; 9:1; Isa 12:4)?
3. Notice God's 4 responses to man's rebellion (Gen 11:5-9). Think about the irony of God who "sees" them "reaching for the heavens" (Gen 11:5; 6:5,12; Ps 2:1-4; Isa 40:21-23). Notice the phrase "Come, let us..." (Gen 11:3,4,7). Whose "let us" prevailed (Gen 11:8-9)?
4. The Hebrew for "confused" is "balal," while Babel means "gate of the God." What is the narrator communicating in this wordplay?
5. What is the message of hope for Israel (Num 13:28; Deut 1:28; 3:5; 9:1; Jer 51:53)? For us (Gen 11:10-32; 12:1-3; Jn 1:29; Mt 28:19; Rev 18:2,10)? How is Pentecost at Jerusalem the initial reversal of the judgment at Babel (Acts 2:4-6,11,41-47)? How is the new Jerusalem the final fulfillment (Isa 2:2-4; Rev 21:1-4,10,23-24,26)?

The Call of God (Gen 12:1-3)

1. What may be some ways to not teach the call of Abram in Gen 12:1-3?
2. Think of how the call of God is absolutely necessary and gracious (Jos 24:2; Rom 3:9-11; Gen 6:5; Eph 2:1-3; 1 Cor 1:26-31).
3. Think of how the call of God radical personally (Gen 12:1; Matt 10:37-39), volitionally (Gen 12:1b; John 14:1), missiologically (Gen 12:2-3; 10:1-32), and culturally (1 Cor 9:20-22).
4. How can we receive and respond to the call of God? Have you heard the call of God?

Man's Heart and Center (Gen 13:1-17)

1. Think about Lot's heart when he heard Abram's generous proposal (Gen 13:8-9). What does seeing the fertile Jordan like "the garden of the Lord" tell us about Lot's heart's desire? What did man have in "the garden of the Lord" (Gen 3:8)?
2. What does Abram's proposal show about his values (Gen 13:8-9; Matt 22:37-39)? How has Abram's life drastically changed with the call of God (Gen 12:1-3; Heb 11:8-10)?
3. How was Abram able to handle his failure in Egypt (Gen 12:10-20; 13:1-4)? How does grace help us in our personal failures (Eph 2:8-9)?
4. God promised Abram an abundance of blessing in Gen 13:14-17. How is God able to bless Abram and us when all we do is sin and fail (Matt 4:9; 2 Cor 8:9)?

Divine Dealing of Our Doubts (Gen 15:1-22)

1. Abram had doubts (Gen 15:2-3) after experiencing a great victory (Gen 14:1-24) and despite God's great assurance (Gen 15:1). Is doubt inevitable in the Christian life?
   
2. How did God deal with Abram's doubt (Gen 15:4-5; John 20:24-29)? How might conservatives and liberals deal with doubt?
3. How does Paul use Gen 15:6 to prove his doctrine of justification by faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone (Rom 4:2-5; Gal 3:5-6)? Think of faith as "Faith faces the facts, but it also faces the facts of God."
   
4. Explain the covenant ceremony in Gen 15:9-18 (Jer 34:18-20). Compare the darkness Abram experienced (Gen 15:12) with another darkness centuries later (Mark 15:33-34). Why was Jesus cut off (Isa 53:8; Gal 3:14; Luke 22:20)?

The God Who Sees and Hears Everything (Gen 16:1-16)

1. How is Hagar an exploited slave (Gen 16:1-3)? What 4 complications resulted (Gen 16:4-6)? Is the Bible a book of virtues? Is it something else?
   
2. Sarai's culture said, "If you have no children, you are a failure as a woman." How did she choose between God and barrenness (Gen 16:1-3)? Why was she also a slave? How might our culture make us feel like failures?
   
3. Abram agreed with Sarai (Gen 16:2b). Is he responsible? Why (Gen 3:17)? What was Abram's 2 choices (Gal 4:22-23)?
4. Who is the mysterious friend who helped Hagar (Gen 16:9-11)? When did he meet Hagar again (Gen 21:8-21)? What did Hagar realize about this encounter (Gen 16:13)? How could God hear the boy Ishmael (Gen 21:17)?
5. Are there any similarities and differences between Hagar's son Ishmael and the Son that would come centuries later (John 1:10-11; Mark 15:34)? What do we know about God that Hagar did not (Gen 16:13; Isa 40:12,15)?

 Walk Before God Blamelessly (Gen 17:1-27)

1. Why does God reveal himself as "God Almighty" (Gen 17:1)? What does this suggest about how we should live (1 Chron 28:9)? Explain coram deo (Gen 3:8). How can we not be cut off when we are not able to walk blamelessly (Isa 53:8; Lk 2:21; Gal 3:13)? What do the new names of Abram and Sarai signify (Gen 17:3-6, 15-16)? Why was this hard for Abram (Gen 17:17-22)? What did he do (Gen 17:23-27)?
   
How is the covenant of Gen 17:1-16 similar/different from the covenant in Gen 15:9-19? Why is it significant that God's oath came first before Abram's oath (Rom 4:9-11)? How is the gospel different from religion (Ex 12:13, 20:2-17)?
2. How is circumcision the sign of being God's covenant people (Gen 17:9-11; Dt 10:16, 30:6; Jer 4:4)? Why is community crucial (Gen 17:12-13,23,27; Heb 10:24; Gal 3:28)? How does Jesus' cross shed light on circumcision (Col 2:11-12; Rom 2:29)?

The Wonder of Laughter (Gen 18:1-15; 21:1-7)

1. When the Lord visited Abraham, what did he want to tell Sarah (Gen 18:9-10)? Why is it important to have a personal encounter with God (Rev 3:20)?
2. When Sarah loathed her condition and then lied (Gen 18:12,15), how did the Lord respond (Gen 18:13-15; Isa 9:6)? Should we be upset when others lie?
   
3. Why did God come to her (Gen 18:14, 21:1-2,6-7; 1 Chron 16:9; Ps 105:2)? Why is a sense of wonder crucial to our happiness and well being?
   
4. Why is it a logical mistake and an exegetical mistake to apply Gen 18:14 as having faith to overcome the impossible, like Sarah having a child at age 90?
5. How does the story of Isaac's birth point to the ultimate story of the true Isaac, Jesus' birth (Luke 1:31, 37)? What did Jesus have to lose in order to bring us laughter (John 1:18; Isa 53:3)?
6. What is the difference between Sarah's laughter before and after Isaac was born (Gen 18:13, 21:6)? What are 4 signs indicating that we have tasted God bringing laughter to us as Christians (Gen 21:6-7; 1 Cor 1:27-28)?
7. Think of how God's redeeming work brings laughter/joy: Ps 126:1-2; Isa 9:6; Luke 1:46-47; John 8:56; Acts 2:27, 13:47-48; John 3:16; Col 3:16-17.

The Problem of Blessing (Gen 27:18-34)

1. In view of Gen 25:23, what can we learn from:
• Isaac's plan to bless Esau (Gen 27:1-4),
• Rebekah's plan to have Jacob blessed (Gen 27:5-13),
  
• Jacob carrying out the plan (Gen 27:14-29),
• Esau's response (Gen 27:30-41), and
• the consequences of deceit (Gen 27:42-46)?
• Does anyone trust anyone?
• Is Jacob better than Esau (Rom 9:10; Acts 4:27; John 1:12-13)?
2. The struggle for blessing is the theme of Jacob's life (Gen 25:31-33; 27:19; 32:26). How powerful are words of blessing/discouragement (Prov 12:18; 18:4)? Why do we all need words of blessing from others (Prov 16:24)? Why did Jacob need blessing from his father Isaac (Gen 25:28)?
3. Why is Rebekah and Jacob's way of getting blessing not right (Prov 3:5-6)? Did Isaac repent (Gen 27:33)? Did Esau repent (Gen 27:34-38)?
4. Jacob lied saying, "I am your firstborn" (Gen 27:19). Who is the ultimate firstborn (Col 1:15,18; Rom 8:29; Heb 1:6; Rev 1:5; John 1:18)? Why did Jesus not call God "Father" on the cross (Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34)? Why did Jesus lose his firstborn blessing (Gal 3:13-14)? What is the result for us (Heb 12:23; John 17:23)?

The Stairway to Heaven (Gen 28:10-22)

1. Why did Jacob leave home (Gen 27:41-43; 28:1-5)? How was his life (Gen 28:10-11)? Compare this with God's purpose for him (Gen 25:23). Was Jacob seeking God?
   
2. What were 3 things Jacob saw (Gen 28:12-13)? 3 things he heard (Gen 28:13-15)? What can we learn here about heaven/God (2 Ki 6:16-17)?
3. What did Jacob learn about the gate of heaven (Gen 28:16-17)? How does this compare with the tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-4). With the religions of the world?
   
4. Compare God's promise with Jacob's response (Gen 28:13-15; 20-22). How can a holy God come to sinful Jacob (Gen 28:20-22; Exo 33:18-20; Isa 6:1-7; John 1:45-51)? How can we have a personal encounter with God (Ps 24:1; 1 Cor 10:26; 2 Cor 12:9; Ps 25:11; Gen 28:15)?

The Search for One True Love (Gen 29:15-35)

1. What might Laban know about Jacob (Gen 29:10-14)? What was the motivation of Laban and Jacob (Gen 29:15-20)? How is Laban's scheme ingenious, though cruel (Gen 29:21-26)? What did Laban gain?
2. Though Jacob was shocked and furious (Gen 29:25), why did he agree so compliantly to Laban's explanation and further unreasonable offer (Gen 29:26-30)? How was Laban's deceit with Jacob parallel to Jacob's deceit with his family?
3. How does the affirmation of Gen 28:13-15 and the discipline of Gen 29:15-30 work together for Jacob's good (Heb 12:5-6; Prov 3:12; Amos 3:2; Gen 50:20)?
4. Identify the idols of Jacob (Gen 29:18,20,30), Leah (Gen 29:32-34), Rachel (Gen 30:1,8). How does God deal with the lovelessness of Leah (Gen 29:31)? The barrenness of Rachel (Gen 30:22-24)? What does this tell us about God's salvation (Isa 53:2; Jn 1:11; Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34; 1 Cor 1: 27-29)?
   

These questions were primarily inspired by Genesis sermons from Tim Keller.