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Faithful Journaling

Faithful Journaling: Genesis 45-48

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How are you doing with Genesis? We’re almost done!

Week 45: Read Genesis 45 and write down your thoughts about these prompts in your journal:

What explanation did Joseph give his brothers for his unexpected mercy and forgiveness?

How does this scene prefigure the role Christ took on for all of us?

How has your response been similar to that of the brothers? How has it been different?

Week 46: Read Genesis 46 and answer some or all of these questions in your journal.

What promise did Joseph make to his family when they moved to Egypt?

From your knowledge of what comes next in the Bible, how did this all work out?

Consider a time when God led you and/or your loved ones forward into the unknown, and then things seemed to go wrong.  What happened?  Why, do you think?  Where was God in all of that?

Week 47: Read Genesis 47 and consider some or all of these prompts in your journal:

Summarize the events of this chapter.

In some circles, the “Land of Goshen” is a favorite saying.  What do you think is meant by that?

What/where is your personal “Land of Goshen”? How so, and why?

Week 48: Read chapter 48 in Genesis. Answer some or all of the following questions in your journal.

What other stories from the family’s past does this story remind you of?

Why do you think Jacob/Israel did this?

How does this story relate to Jesus’ pronouncement that “the first shall be last and the last first”?

 

Faithful Journaling

Faithful Journaling: Genesis 32-35

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Keep going! Journaling through Genesis will strengthen your foundation.

Week 32: Read Genesis 32, then consider some or all of these questions in your journal:

Why was Jacob so worried when Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men?  When have you been concerned about the reception you would meet with a certain person? Why? What happened?

Why did God choose this moment to wrestle with Jacob? Has God ever given you a message in a similar way?

Why did God change Jacob’s name to Israel? What kind of a change in your life would be so significant as to cause a name change for you?

Week 33: Read Genesis 33 and answer the questions that speak to you.

Why did Jacob send his flocks, herds, and family ahead to meet Esau? What does this say about him?

Why did Jacob fail to follow through on his promise to follow Esau to his home? What does this say about him?

All in all, how does Jacob stack up as an example of a “man of God”? What does this say about God’s choices and about your service?

Week 34: Read Genesis 34 and continue answering questions in your journal.

Summarize the events of this chapter. Did you notice that there is no mention of God? Why do you think that is?

Why would intermarriage with the Canaanites be such a problem for Jacob’s family?

In what way did Jacob’s sons show that they were very much like their father?

What traits have you “inherited” from someone close to you that you would like to excise from your life? How can you manage this?

Week 35: Read Genesis 35 and respond to any or all of these questions in your journal.

Jacob and his family have now come full circle and are back in the land where they came from. What full circles have you made in your life? What was gained from them?

Rachel’s loss must have been heavy for Jacob, since she was the favored wife.  What loss in your life has affected you the most, and in what way?

In retrospect, we can see that God was preparing Jacob’s family to become the nation of Israel. Looking at your own life and God’s movements within it, what do you believe God is preparing you to become?