Tag Archives: Scripture

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 36-39

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And another set of things to ponder in your journal:

Week 36: Read Genesis chapter 36 and consider these questions:

This chapter is mostly made up of lists. What else is in here?

Use a map and locate the land of Edom. What is there today? What is the significance of this area in present-day politics?

How are the Edomites represented in God’s Promised Land? Why do you think God included this chapter in Genesis?

Week 37: Read Genesis 37 and respond to this questions in your journal as you feel led.

How did Jacob’s feelings toward Joseph affect the young man’s life and development?  Was this a good or a bad thing? Or both?

Why were Joseph’s brothers so hostile towards him? What did they do?

When have you attempted to cover up a wrong in the way that Joseph’s brothers did? How did that turn out? How did it make you feel?

Week 38: Read Genesis 38. Answer the questions.

Explain this tangled story in your own words. What happened, to whom, and why?

What do you see to be the main wrong in this story? How so?

Why would it have been important to know which twin came out first? What can you discover about Perez and his actions later in Scripture?

Week 39: Read Genesis 39. Consider these questions in your journal:

What kind of life did Joseph end up having in Egypt as a slave?

How did Joseph respond to Potiphar’s wife’s advances? Why? What happened?

When have you been in a situation where doing the right thing ended up causing you a lot of grief? What happened? What was the final outcome? Was it “worth it”?

Faithful Journaling, Inspirations

Faithful Journaling: Genesis 27-31

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Ready to continue with your reading and journaling in Genesis? Here are some questions to consider.

Week 27: Read Genesis 27 and answer the questions that speak to you in your journal.

This story is a great example of conniving by humans to influence events in God’s plan.  Was it successful?  What were the outcome(s) of Jacob and Rebekah’s plotting?

In what way did God influence the events in this story? To what end?

How have you seen the plans of manipulating people affect what you perceive to be God’s plan? Can God’s plan be thwarted?

 

Week 28: Read the words of Genesis 28 and then respond to these questions as you feel led.

Why was Esau so set on displeasing his father? When have your (or someone in your life) done something that was probably not the best choice for the sole purpose of getting even with someone else?

What relation did Jacob’s dream at Bethel have to previous events in this family? What similarities do you see? What differences?

When have you made a covenant with God similar to the one that Jacob made after his dream? Have you kept up your end? Has God kept his end? Why or why not?

Week 29: Read Genesis 29 and consider the following questions in light of what you have read.

What happened when Jacob agreed to work 7 years for Laban in exchange for Rachel? Why?

Why do you think that God gave Leah children but not Rachel?  What was the impact of this situation?

What parallels do you see between Rachel and Leah’s story and that of Jacob and Esau?  Why do you think this story became a part of our Scriptures? What are we to learn?

Week 30: Read and think about Genesis chapter 30, then answer some or all of these questions.

This chapter tells the story of the beginnings of Jacob’s family. Why does God allow/cause things to turn out in this way?

Why did Jacob follow a superstition about the coloring of the sheep?  Why did God intervene to allow it to work? Can you think of other stories in Scripture where God has intervened in natural processes to make a point or accomplish a goal?

What would be your prediction about Jacob’s continuing relationship with Laban? Why?

Week 31: Read Genesis 31, and then consider the following questions in your journal:

Why did Rachel steal her father’s household gods in verse 19?  What was God’s instruction on the matter? What was the outcome of this action?

These past few chapters have given us a clear picture of the kind of people that were a part of this family. What do you think? How can God choose and use such flawed individuals?

How has God chosen and used you in these past few months? What was the outcome?