Here are some guiding questions as you continue to read a chapter a week in Genesis and writing about your experience in your journal.
Week 23: Read Genesis 23 and answer the questions that speak to you in your journal.
Abraham has been hit by one of the most profound griefs that people can suffer-the loss of his life-long spouse. Why do you think, in this difficult time, that he is so set on burying Sarah in this particular place? Commentaries say that the Hittite was cheating him in this deal. Why was it so important to him to bury her in this land?
Have you faced a profound grief such as Abraham’s? If so, how has God upheld you through the difficult time? If not, what other difficulty has God made easier for you and in what ways?
Abraham’s faith in God’s promise to give the land to his descendants shines through in this chapter. What promise of God are you clinging to in your life? What actions have you taken because of that promise?
Week 24: Read Genesis 24 and consider some or all of the following questions in your journal.
What do you think of the servant’s request to God in vv. 12-14? In your view, is it OK to ask God for signs such as this one? There are other examples of this in Scripture. Can you find them? Have you ever done this? What was the outcome?
When have you seen God’s hand at work in your life in these past few weeks in the same profound way that God provided a wife for Isaac?
Isaac took comfort in Rebekah though he was still grieving for his mother. Who in your life can give you that kind of comfort? Who can you give that kind of comfort to?
Week 25: Read Genesis 25 and answer some or all of the following questions in your journal.
Once again, in the births of Jacob and Esau, we see God separating out the line of His chosen people and creating other groups. Why do you thing He might be doing this?
Consider the story of Esau, Jacob, and the stew. What actually happened there? What does the entire incident tell you about Esau? About Jacob?
How does the transfer of the birthright affect the two men legally? Recall the prophecy made at their birth. How does the incident change things in the eyes of God?
Week 26: Read Genesis 26, and then consider some or all of these questions in your journal.
Why does the story in vv. 7-9 sound familiar? How is this episode similar and different than the ones before it?
Why did Abimelech send Isaac and his family away? Why did he later want to make a treaty with Isaac? When have you noticed this type of response from someone who became aware of your relationship with God?
Esau chose to marry outside of God’s people. How did this impact Isaac and Rebekah? Have you been a part of any “unequal” marriage situation or close to one? What was/is that like? Do you believe that Christians should only marry other Christians? Why or why not?