Tag: Joseph

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Bible Challenge, Week 9: The People – Moses

The sons of Jacob have become tribes, and the tribes will become a multitude called “Israel.”  God started with one man who trusted him (Abraham), chose one of his sons (Isaac) to carry on the promise, and chose one of that man’s sons to continue.  From the grandson with two names (“Cheater” and “Striver”) God is building a great nation.  It seems that Genesis has a happy ending.  But two problems come up right away . . .

Something huge is about to happen, certified by an explosion of supernatural events.  As much as unbelievers scoff at the Bible as a “book of fairy tales,” miracles are not that common in its pages (and fairies are  nonexistent).  God reserves miracles for special events, and we’re coming up on a big one.   But first we need a messenger, a human agent to put events in motion: someone who was planned for, and set aside, and providentially preserved for a time such as this.

To learn more, click here:

Bible challenge Week 9: The People – Moses

(This is a continuation of a series of posts about the “whole story” of the Bible.  I plan to run one every week, on Tuesdays, with a printable PDF.  The printable includes a brief 2-3 paragraph introduction, Bible passages to read, a key verse, 5-7 thought/discussion questions, and 2-3 activities for the kids.  Here’s the Overview of the entire Bible series.)

Previous: Week 9: The Promise – Joseph

Next: Week 11: The People – Deliverance

 

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Bible Challenge, Week 8: The Promise – Joseph

Joseph is an interesting character.  There are more chapters devoted to him in Genesis than even his great-grandfather Abraham, but he’s not part of the standard patriarchal formula used throughout the Bible to identify “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”  Does adding another name simply make the tagline too bulky?  Or is Joseph something more or less than a patriarch?

I think there’s another factor that eliminates him from that very exclusive society: unlike the others, he receives no direct covenant promises from God.  Instead, he lives the covenant promise.  He is both the last of the patriarchs, and the first of the key figures through which God begins to work out his plan.  Joseph is the link between a covenant family and a covenant people, as we’ll see next week.

His life is characterized by weird dreams and swift reversals, and is one of the most dramatic in all of scripture.  You may know the plot of his story, but what’s the theme?  Click here for the pdf download:

Bible Challenge, Week 8: The Promise – Joseph

(This is a continuation of a series of posts about the “whole story” of the Bible.  I plan to run one every week, on Tuesdays, with a printable PDF.  The printable includes a brief 2-3 paragraph introduction, Bible passages to read, a key verse, 5-7 thought/discussion questions, and 2-3 activities for the kids.  Here’s the Overview of the entire Bible series.)

Previous: Week 7: The Promise – Jacob

Next: Week 9: The People – Moses