Genesis, part 3

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Genesis, part 3
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Abrahams descendants

• Isaac Rebecca
• Esau and Jacob (Heal grabber, to deceive)
• Esau married 2 Hittite women
• They made life miserable for Isaac and Rebecca
  (Genesis 2635 GN)
• Jacob steals Esaus birthright and blessing
• But Mother, Jacob said, my brother Esau is a
  hairy man and I have smooth skin. What happens if
  my father touches me? Hell think I'm playing
  games with him. Ill bring down a curse on myself
  instead of a blessing. If it comes to that,
  said his mother, Ill take the curse on myself.
  Now, just do what I say. Go and get the goats.
  (Genesis 2711-13 The Message)
• Jacob flees for his life

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Jacobs Dream

• And he came to a certain place and stayed there
  overnight, because the sun was set. Taking one of
  the stones of the place, he put it under his head
  and lay down there to sleep. And he dreamed that
  there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the
  top of it reached to heaven and the angels of
  God were ascending and descending on it! And
  behold, the Lord stood over and beside him and
  said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your
  father and the God of Isaac I will give to you
  and to your descendants the land on which you are
  lying. And your offspring shall be as countless
  as the dust or sand of the ground, and you shall
  spread abroad to the west and the east and the
  north and the south and by you and your
  Offspring shall all the families of the earth be
  blessed and bless themselves.

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Jacobs dream

• And behold, I am with you and will keep watch
  over you wherever you may go, and I will bring
  you back to this land for I will not leave you
  until I have done all of which I have told you.
  And Jacob awoke from his sleep and he said,
  Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not
  know it. He was afraid and said, How to be
  feared and reverenced is this place! This is none
  other than the house of God, and this is the
  gateway to heaven! (Genesis 2811-17
  Amplified)

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What does the ladder represent?

• Genesis 2812,13,17
• And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on
  the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven
  and the angels of God were ascending and
  descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood over
  and beside him and said, I am the Lord, the God
  of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac I
  will give to you and to your descendants the land
  on which you are lying
• This is none other than the house of God, and
  this is the gateway to heaven! (Amplified)

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Jacobs dream

• Did God approve of what Jacob had done?
• God is just like the Father in the story of the
  Prodigal son
• So he got up and started back to his father. He
  was still a long way from home when his father
  saw him his heart was filled with pity, and he
  ran, threw his arms around his son, and kissed
  him. (Luke 1520 GN)

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The ladder

• And he said to them, I am telling you the
  truth you will see heaven open and Gods angels
  going up and coming down on the Son of Man.
  (John 151 GN)
• Jesus is the ladder
• From the very first day, we were there, taking
  it all in--we heard it with our own ears, saw it
  with our own eyes, verified it with our own
  hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our
  eyes we saw it happen! And now we're telling you
  in most sober prose that what we witnessed was,
  incredibly, this The infinite Life of God
  himself took shape before us. We saw it, we heard
  it, and now we're telling you so you can
  experience it along with us, this experience of
  communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus
  Christ. (1 John 11-3 The Message)

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The ladder

• John 819 GN
• If you knew me, you would know my Father also.
• John 146-9 - GN
• Jesus answered him, I am the way, the truth,
  and the life no one goes to the Father except by
  me. Now that you have known me, he said to them,
  you will know my Father also, and from now on
  you do know him and you have seen him. Philip
  said to him, Lord, show us the Father that is
  all we need. Jesus answered, For a long time I
  have been with you all yet you do not know me,
  Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
  Why, then, do you say, Show us the Father? Do
  you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father
  and the Father is in me?

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The ladder

• And eternal life means to know you, the only
  true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you
  sent. I have shown your glory on earth I have
  finished the work you gave me to do. Father! Give
  me glory in your presence now, the same glory I
  had with you before the world was made. I have
  made you known to those you gave me out of the
  world. (John 173-6 GN)

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(No Transcript)
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The maturity of Jacob

• After the dream
• Then Jacob made a vow to the LORD If you will
  be with me and protect me on the journey I am
  making and give me food and clothing, and if I
  return safely to my fathers home, then you will
  be my God. This memorial stone which I have set
  up will be the place where you are worshiped, and
  I will give you a tenth of everything you give
  me. (Genesis 2820-23 GN)

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Motives for obedience

• 1. I obey God for hope of reward or from fear of
  punishment
• 2. I obey God because I love him
• 3. I obey God because I agree with him and his
  ways. The things that he has asked me to do make
  such good sense and it is, for me, the only
  reasonable way to live

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The maturity of Jacob

• 14 years of hard work for Leah and Rachel
• Jacob heard that Labans sons were saying,
  Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our
  father. He got all his wealth from what our
  father owned. He also saw that Laban was no
  longer as friendly as he had been earlier.
  (Genesis 311,2 GN)
• You both know that I have worked for your father
  with all my strength. Yet he has cheated me and
  changed my wages ten timesHe took everything he
  owned and left in a hurry (Genesis 316,7,21
  GN)

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The maturity of Jacob

• As Jacob went on his way, some angels met him.
  When he saw them, he said, This is God's camp
  so he named the place Mahanaim. Jacob sent
  messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in
  the country of Edom. He instructed them to say
  I, Jacob, your obedient servant, report to my
  master Esau that I have been staying with Laban
  and that I have delayed my return until now. I
  own cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and slaves. I
  am sending you word, sir, in the hope of gaining
  your favor. When the messengers came back to
  Jacob, they said, We went to your brother Esau,
  and he is already on his way to meet you. He has
  four hundred men with him. Jacob was frightened
  and worried. He divided into two groups the
  people who were with him, and also his sheep,
  goats, cattle, and camels. He thought, If Esau
  comes and attacks the first group, the other may
  be able to escape.

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The maturity of Jacob

• Then Jacob prayed, God of my grandfather
  Abraham and God of my father Isaac, hear me! You
  told me, LORD, to go back to my land and to my
  relatives, and you would make everything go well
  for me. I am not worth all the kindness and
  faithfulness that you have shown me, your
  servant. I crossed the Jordan with nothing but a
  walking stick, and now I have come back with
  these two groups. Save me, I pray, from my
  brother Esau. I am afraid---afraid that he is
  coming to attack us and destroy us all, even the
  women and children. Remember that you promised to
  make everything go well for me and to give me
  more descendants than anyone could count, as many
  as the grains of sand along the seashore.
  (Genesis 321-12 GN)

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Wrestling with God

• That same night Jacob got up, took his two
  wives, his two concubines, and his eleven
  children, and crossed the Jabbok River. After he
  had sent them across, he also sent across all
  that he owned, but he stayed behind, alone. Then
  a man came and wrestled with him until just
  before daybreak. When the man saw that he was not
  winning the struggle, he hit Jacob on the hip,
  and it was thrown out of joint. The man said,
  Let me go daylight is coming. I wont, unless
  you bless me, Jacob answered. What is your
  name? the man asked. Jacob, he answered. The
  man said, Your name will no longer be Jacob. You
  have struggled with God and with men, and you
  have won so your name will be Israel. Jacob
  said, Now tell me your name. But he answered,
  Why do you want to know my name? Then he
  blessed Jacob. Jacob said, I have seen God
  face-to-face, and I am still alive so he named
  the place Peniel. (Genesis 3222-30 GN)

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Wrestling with God

• Cheated his brother out of birthright and
  blessing
• Guilt in fleeing for his life
• The dream Youll be my God if.
• Accused of cheating his uncle
• Now faced with the crisis of his life
• What was the point of wrestling with Jacob?
  Couldnt God have defeated Jacob? Why say, let
  me go?
• What do you think about a God who wrestles in the
  dirt all night.with a cheat?

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Name change

• Jacob
• Grabber of the heal, deceiver and cheat
• Israel
• El God he fights or he rules
• He prevails over God or he rules with God or
  the one who strove with God
• Transformation of character
• Trust in self ? Trust in God
• Cling only to me Jacob.no need to cheat or try
  to do it on your own

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Wrestling with God

• Even before Jacob was born, he cheated his
  brother, and when he grew up, he fought against
  God. At Bethel, Jacob wrestled with an angel and
  won then with tears in his eyes, he asked for a
  blessing, and God spoke to us there. Gods name
  is the LORD, the LORD God All-Powerful. So return
  to your God. Patiently trust him, and show love
  and justice. Israel, you enjoy cheating and
  taking advantage of others. You say to yourself,
  Im rich! I earned it all on my own, without
  committing a sin. (Hosea 123-8 CEV)
• let them take hold of My strength and make
  complete surrender to My protection, that they
  may make peace with Me! Yes, let them make peace
  with Me! (Isaiah 275 Amplified)

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Jacobs children

• The rape of Dinah
• Simeon and Levi kill all the men in the city as
  revenge
• While Jacob was living in that land, Reuben had
  sexual intercourse with Bilhah, one of his
  fathers concubines Jacob heard about it and was
  furious. (Genesis 3522 - GN)
• Judah marries a Canaanite woman
• Judah sleeps with prostitute (unknowingly his
  daughter-in-law Tamar). About three months later
  someone told Judah, Your daughter-in-law Tamar
  has been acting like a whore, and now she is
  pregnant. Judah ordered, Take her out and burn
  her to death. (Genesis 3824,25 GN)
• Josephs brothers sell him as a slave

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Jacobs children

• Why do we need to know all these details?
• The Bible is believable
• God does not give up on a hardened group of
  people, despite all the harm to his reputation
• God stoops to our level the absence of Gods
  words speak volumes about his love and patience
  with us
• We must have the proper understanding of the
  background if we are to understand Gods actions.
  
• God is not dealing with trusting friends in this
  part of the Bible. The people of Israel are as
  stubborn as mules. How can I feed them like lambs
  in a meadow? (Hosea 416 GN)
• Where is God in the end of Genesis?
• When Jacob returned from Mesopotamia, God
  appeared to him again and blessed him (Genesis
  359 GN)
• We will never find a better man than Joseph, a
  man who has Gods spirit in him. (Genesis 4138
  GN)

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Gods love for sinners

• There is nothing you can do that will make God
  love you more
• There is nothing you can do that will make God
  love you less
• For God so loved the world. (John 316)
• God is always with us, always eager to help and
  the heal
• Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and
  stone the messengers God has sent you! How many
  times I wanted to put my arms around all your
  people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under
  her wings, but you would not let me! (Matthew
  2337 GN)

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Jacobs children

• So Joseph died in Egypt at the age of a hundred
  and ten. They embalmed his body and put it in a
  coffin (Genesis 5026 GN)

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Exodus
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Moses at the burning bush

• Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his
  father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the
  flock to the west end of the wilderness and came
  to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of GOD
  appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of
  the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was
  blazing away but it didnt burn up. Moses said,
  What's going on here? I cant believe this!
  Amazing! Why doesn't the bush burn up?
• GOD saw that he had stopped to look. God called
  to him from out of the bush, Moses! Moses! He
  said, Yes? I'm right here! God said, Don't
  come any closer. Remove your sandals from your
  feet. Youre standing on holy ground. Then he
  said, I am the God of your father The God of
  Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.
  Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.
  (Exodus 31-6 The Message)
• Who was it, an angel or God?

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Moses at the burning bush

• But Moses replied, When I go to the Israelites
  and say to them, The God of your ancestors sent
  me to you, they will ask me, What is his name? So
  what can I tell them? God said, I am who I am.
  You must tell them 'The one who is called I AM
  has sent me to you. Tell the Israelites that I,
  the LORD, the God of their ancestors, the God of
  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have sent you to them.
  This is my name forever this is what all future
  generations are to call me. (Exodus 313-15
  GN)

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Jesus, the I AM

• And you will die in your sins if you do not
  believe that I Am Who I AmWhen you lift up the
  Son of Man, you will know that I Am Who I AmI
  am telling you the truth, Jesus replied. Before
  Abraham was born, I Am. Then they picked up
  stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and
  left the Temple. (John 824,28,58,59 GN)

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Jesus, the I AM

• I want you to remember, my friends, what
  happened to our ancestors who followed Moses.
  They were all under the protection of the cloud,
  and all passed safely through the Red Sea. In the
  cloud and in the sea they were all baptized as
  followers of Moses. All ate the same spiritual
  bread and drank the same spiritual drink. They
  drank from the spiritual rock that went with
  them and that rock was Christ himself. (1
  Corinthians 101-4 GN)

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Gods condescension

• God
• I am a God who is everywhere and not in one
  place only. No one can hide where I cannot see
  them. Do you not know that I am everywhere in
  heaven and on earth? (Jeremiah 2323,24 - GN)
• Angel of the Lord
• Hagar, Jacob, Moses, Gideon
• Man of Nazareth
• Can anything good come from Nazareth? (John
  146 GN)
• Nothing
• The greatest love you can have for your friends
  is to give your life for them. (John 1513)

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Why choose Moses?

• Then you will be like God, telling him what to
  say. (Exodus 416 GN)
• The LORD said, I am going to make you like God
  to the king, and your brother Aaron will speak to
  him as your prophet. (Exodus 71 GN)
• He will send you a prophet like me from among
  your own people (Deuteronomy 1815 - GN)
• Moses was a humble man, more humble than anyone
  else on earth (Numbers 123 - GN)

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Moses and Pharaoh

• Then Moses and Aaron went to the king of Egypt
  and said, The LORD, the God of Israel, says, Let
  my people go, so that they can hold a festival in
  the desert to honor me.
• Who is the LORD? the king demanded. Why should
  I listen to him and let Israel go? I do not know
  the LORD and I will not let Israel go...
• What do you mean by making the people neglect
  their work? Get those slaves back to work! You
  people have become more numerous than the
  Egyptians. And now you want to stop working!
  (Exodus 51,2,4,5 GN)
• How should God respond?
• Gentle Jesus?
• A dilemma for a selfless and gentle God

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Moses, Gods friend

• The foremen realized that they were in trouble
  when they were told that they had to make the
  same number of bricks every day as they had made
  before. As they were leaving, they met Moses and
  Aaron, who were waiting for them. They said to
  Moses and Aaron, The LORD has seen what you have
  done and will punish you for making the king and
  his officers hate us. You have given them an
  excuse to kill us. Then Moses turned to the LORD
  again and said, Lord, why do you mistreat your
  people? Why did you send me here? Ever since I
  went to the king to speak for you, he has treated
  them cruelly. And you have done nothing to help
  them! (Exodus 519-23 GN)
• From the moment I came to Pharaoh to speak in
  your name, things have only gotten worse for this
  people. And rescue? Does this look like rescue to
  you? (Exodus 523 The Message)
• Gods reply
• Then the LORD said to Moses, Now you will see
  what I will do to Pharaoh. I will show him my
  power, and he will let my people go. I will show
  him my power, and he will throw them out of his
  country. (Exodus 61 GODS WORD)

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The plagues

• Blood
• Frogs
• Gnats
• Flies
• Death of the animals
• Boils
• Hail
• Locusts
• Darkness
• Passover
• Why use these methods?

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The plagues

• Blood Hapi, the god of the Nile who was thought
  to bring water and life to Egypt
• Frogs Heka, the toad goddess, a symbol of
  resurrection
• Gnats Geb, the god of earth and vegetation
• Flies Khepri, the god of insects
• Death of the animals Apis, the god of cattle
• Boils Thoth, the god of medicine and wisdom.
  They would sacrifice humans and burn them alive
  on high alters and then spread their ashes into
  the air as a blessing to heal people
• Hail Nut, the sky goddess of harvest
• Locusts Anubis, the god of the fields
• Darkness Ra, the sun god believed to the
  physical father of all pharaohs
• Passover On that night I will go through the
  landpunishing all the gods of Egypt (Exodus
  1212 - GN)

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A spiritual law

• We become like the God we worship
• Worship things (money, etc.), or things made by
  God, or a false picture of God
• They worshiped worthless idols and became
  worthless themselves (Jeremiah 25 GN)
• They exchange the truth about God for a lie
  they worship and serve what God has created
  instead of the Creator himself (Romans 125
  GN)
• Worship the true God
• All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord
  with uncovered faces and that same glory, coming
  from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us
  into his likeness in an ever greater degree of
  glory. (2 Corinthians 318 GN)