We shall continue with
the study of the Book of Genesis this week.
(1) “The Lord has blessed him in every way”
a. Was this an over-statement? Why or why not?
b. Why was Abraham’s life so blessed?
c. Can the same be said of your life? Why or why not?
(2) In making his servant to swear by the Lord, why did Abraham call the Lord, “the God of heaven and the God of the earth”?
(3) Why did he have to get his son a wife from his homeland and not from the Canaanites?
(4) Why did he emphasize that the servant should not take his son back to the homeland? What was the significance of this command?
(5) How did Abraham know that God would send His angel before his servant?
(6) He was prepared to release his servant from the oath should the would-be wife of Isaac refuse to go with him. Was it a sign of little faith? A sign of submission? Or a sign of commitment?
(7) How did Abraham show his faith and commitment to the Covenant of God through this decision?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
Here is a good passage for character study — of both the servant and of Rebekah. It was a long, long journey back to the north western part of Mesopotamia with an impressive entourage with ten camels.
(1) Consider the total strategy of this
servant.
a. Having waited at the well toward the evening, what kind of a girl was he looking for in principle?
b. Having to pray for success (the first time such a prayer for specific guidance was recorded in the Bible): What was the basis of his prayer in v. 12?
c. Specifying how he would discern God’s choice, was he not being presumptuous? Why or why not?
d. More specifically, with his particular approach, what kind of a girl was he looking for his master’s son?
(2) What does “before he had finished praying” mean to you?
(3) Was the meeting and greeting of Rebekah a chance occurrence? Why or why not?
(4) How did Rebekah demonstrate that she was worthy to
be the bearer of the seed of the Abrahamic Covenant, through her actions?
a. “quickly lowering the jar” to quench the thirst of a stranger
b. voluntarily watering the camels (each could drink 25 gallons of water)
c. running back and forth to fill the trough with enough water
d. offering hospitality of room and board for the whole entourage, including the camels
What kind of a girl was she?
(5) If you were the servant, how would you react to this encounter?
(6) How did the servant react to this encounter?
(7) What has he learned more personally about this God of his master?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
While Bethuel’s name was mentioned, he was properly incapacitated or too old and his son was the one in charge of the family.
(1) Referring to Laban, the brother of Rebekah, the Bible says, “As soon as he had seen the nose ring and the bracelets…”. What is being depicted by the Bible with these words?
(2) From later events, including those where Laban lied to Jacob and had idols in his household, what do you make of his greeting in v. 31?
(3) Why would Abraham’s servant refuse to eat after possibly a very long and tired day? What kind of a message was he trying to convey to Laban’s household with this gesture?
(4) His speech from vv. 34-49 was aimed to convince Laban’s household in allowing Rebekah to marry the son of Abraham. Before considering the following questions, read his words carefully, and see what emphases or angles the servant used to achieve his goals.
(5) Highlight the points that he made to particularly show that God’s hand was at work through and through.
(6) Highlight the points that he made about the wealth of Abraham.
(7) Highlight the points that he made about Isaac, his rights as sole heir, his approximate age, the unlikelihood that he would have concubines in Canaan.
(8) Consider these questions, if you were Laban:
a. What reason might you have in accepting this marriage proposal?
b. What reason might you have in refusing this marriage proposal?
(9) Did the servant of Abraham make this proposal one that could be negotiated?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
(1) On what basis did Bethuel and Laban make their decision? Why?
(2) If you were the servant, how would you react to their answer?
(3) How did he react to their answer? What can you learn from this servant?
(4) Why did her brother and her mother try to stall the parting of Rebekah? Her mum might miss her, but what about the possible motive of the brother? What does deferring to Rebekah to decide tell us about their motives? (In ancient times, did the girl have anything say about the matter?)
(5) What did they expect Rebekah to say? What did she say?
(6) What does it say about Rebekah?
(7) This story ended with a very touching scene in the Negev:
a. Isaac went to the field in the evening to meditate (the Aramaic version of the OT says “in order to pray”).
b. He loved Rebekah.
c. He was comforted after his mother’s death.
What can you learn about the person of Isaac?
Did Abraham know that Isaac was lonely and hurt after his mother’s death?
(8) What is the main message to you today?
(1) Biblical scholars, in general, tend to view the re-marriage of Abraham as occurring much earlier on; Calvin even suggested that it occurred after Sarah forced Abraham to divorce Hagar. The Bible, in fact, has not given us any clue as to its timing. Why do you think people are so concerned about whether or not Abraham married Keturah before Sarah’s death? Are you? Should you be?
(2) What did Abraham do to ensure that Isaac remained the sole heir to God’s promise?
(3) Abraham lived a long life of 175 years (he would have lived 15 more years after Jacob and Esau were born — see 21:5; 25:7 and 26). It is perhaps fitting that we use some time to remember him:
a. What caused him to uproot from his homeland?
b. What were the hurdles he needed to overcome in such a move?
c. What were the major mistakes he made in his life that the Bible chooses to reveal so openly?
d. What were the results of these mistakes?
e. When God chose him, what were the blessings being foretold? How important was his role in the ultimate plan of salvation for the whole humankind?
f. What was the key of success for Abraham to be able to fulfill his role in this plan?
g. What were the important milestones in his journey of faith?
h. What were the potential events that could have derailed God’s plan of salvation through him?
i. Write a short eulogy for Abraham, as if you were at his funeral.
(4) Why does the Bible choose to give details of his other wife and children and their descendants? This included details of Ishmael together with the account of his death. What kind of a legacy did Abraham leave?
(5) What then is the essential message of today and how may you apply it in your life?
(1) Barrenness continues to be the theme of these matriarchs. How significant was barrenness in the ancient culture? What was its added significance concerning both Sarah and Rebekah?
(2) How did Isaac deal with Rebekah’s almost 20 years of infertility? How different was he from Abraham in dealing with his wife’s barrenness?
(3) Why did Rebekah bring the jostling of the babies in her womb to the Lord? Would you? What does this say about Rebekah?
(4) In answer to Rebekah’s inquiry, what prophecy did God make about the future of the two brothers?
(5) Does this prophecy necessarily mean that Esau will not be able to live a life pleasing to God? Does it mean the Jacob will necessarily be able to live a life pleasing to God?
(6) What were the professions of the two brothers? Does it mean that a stay-at-home, quiet child is better than an outgoing child?
(7) What’s wrong with Isaac and Rebekah in their parenting?
(8) In the case of Esau, what did his birthright entail? How important was it, apart from “possibly” inheriting a double portion of estate (as mandated by the Law of Moses subsequently almost a thousand years later)? (It should be natural that both brothers would have been told of the Covenant made by God with Abraham, their grandfather.)
(9) Did Jacob happen to think of cheating the birthright from Esau?
(10) Do you think the birthright could be sold? Was it officially sold by Esau to Jacob and recognized by the parents?
(11) What was the actual, serious consequence of Esau’s action according to v. 34? What spiritual significance did it have?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
(1) What reason did God give in telling Isaac not to go to Egypt in spite of the famine?
(2) What did Isaac do in order to face the famine?
(3) Why did God tell Isaac not to go Egypt, while He did not appear to have warned Abraham under a similar situation before (Gen. 12:10)?
(4) This Abimelech was likely the son of the king who took Sarah as wife for a time. Why did Isaac lie? Did he not learn from his father’s mistake?
(5) From the rebuke of Abimelech, how would you describe the actual moral condition of Abimelech and the people of the land?
(6) In spite of his lack of faith in God’s protection, how did God honor his obedience in not going to Egypt in spite of the famine?
(7) When the Philistines plugged up all the wells dug by Abraham’s servants, what was the message to Isaac? Did they not break the treaty made between Abraham and King Abimelech back in Genesis 21:30-31?
(8) How did Isaac react to their threat?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?