Welcome to A Walk through the Bible, a children’s devotional series. Genesis is the starting point and one step at a time our journey ends with Revelation.
Being a long-distance grandma, I print and mail a copy to my grandchildren; we schedule face time or a Skype meeting so we can talk. Not only does this provide an opportunity to share my faith, but the time together deepens our relationship and creates lasting memories.
The first section provides an overview of a book from the Bible; a meditation follows using a Scripture from the Bible overview – hopefully facilitating a discussion by asking questions about the covered topic and corresponding verse.
There is also a meditation for toddlers!
You might want to send a binder to the child
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The servant brings back Rebekah to marry Issac. They have twin sons, Esau and Isaac. Isaac loved Esau more and Rebekah loved Isaac more.
Esau was born a few minutes before Isaac, so he was the oldest and entitled to the birthright and blessing.
When it came time for Isaac to give Esau his blessing, Rebekah and Jacob tricked Isaac into giving the blessing to Jacob. Imagine how Esau felt when he found out. Threatening to kill his brother, Jacob fled to live with his mother’s brother Laban.
Jacob meets one of Laban’s daughters, Rachel, and falls in love. In those days you had to pay the family something to marry their daughter. This was called a dowry. Jacob didn’t have any money, because his father had it all back home, so Jacob worked seven years for free to pay the dowry.
Have you ever heard the expression what goes around comes around? Well, that happened to Jacob. He tricked his father and Esau. Now Laban tricked him. Instead of giving him Rachel, he gave Jacob her older sister Leah to marry. In order to marry Rachel he had to work another seven years for free! He was allowed to marry Rachel right away, but he promised to work the seven years after the
Isaac is near a well in a town, and he prays to God so that he could find a wife, and that whoever gives himself and his camels water from a well that is who he is supposed to marry. So Rebekah comes and draws water from it for Isaac and the camels, as soon as her knows her family background, he gives her loads of dowry and they get betrothed! According to Alter, it’s interesting how this type scene worked, there was a lot of dialogue, and it was pretty detailed overall (Alter 53). Jacob is the only instance in which he himself meets the woman at a well (to be betrothed), to Alter Isaac is the most passive of the “hero’s” (or Patriarchs). Alter uses the example of Jacob who was bound to be a victim, he was saved because of a ram; “later he will prefer the son who can go out to the field and bring him back provender”
Michael Joseph Brown, unveils new ways to read and examine the Bible in his book, titled “What They Don’t Tell You: A Survivor’s Guide to Biblical Studies”. Although quite technical, the guide, not book, really goes into depth on the process of studying the Bible and its documents. Brown has a new and refreshing way of giving the reader this information that is necessary in a small group, or for a Biblical scholar. This guide is not meant solely for the biblical scholar and talks in detail about the difference between these two, because some may link the two together. Published by the Westminster John Knox Press, WJK for short, this book gives straight forward answers on the best way to thoroughly understand Biblical text. As you read on you will find out more about how they differ and why they appear so similar from an outside perspective. Brown has taken a wide variety of information, and made it into something interesting and extremely useful for the reader. In his own words, “What I have done is to ‘translate’ some foundational concepts in biblical studies into an idiom more people can understand” (xiii)
“The First Seven Years” begins with Feld and Sobel working in the shoe repair store. Max enters to get his shoes fixed, and Feld convinces him to call his daughter Miriam. Sobel is angered by this and leaves his job. Feld does not understand why. Miriam goes on a couple dates with Max, but is dissatisfied. Feld is disappointed, and searches for Sobel. Sobel confesses his feelings for Miriam, and claims he continued to work for five years in hopes of receiving Miriam for his work ethic. Feld decides he would approve if Sobel would work two more years. Genesis 29 begins with Jacob traveling to Laban. Jacob falls in love with Laban’s daughter, Rachel. Laban and Jacob compile a deal. If Jacob works for him for seven years, Jacob may marry Rachel. However, Laban deceives Jacob and gives him Leah instead. Laban tells Jacob to work for him for another seven years in order to marry Rachel. Jacob did
Jacob's name means "deceiver" and he lives up to his name. His deceitfulness began with stealing his brother's birthright. One day, Esau came in from the fields famished and found Jacob cooking a meal. Jacob offered his half-starved brother, "Give me the birthright and I'll give you some soup." Esau being starved, sold his birthright to Jacob. (Genesis 25: 29-34). Sometime later when Isaac thought he was going to die, he called Esau into his tent and told him to kill an animal and make him some soup. Isaac's wife overheard this and connived a plan with Jacob to deceive Isaac. Jacob disguised himself as Esau and obtained his blind and dying father's blessing (Genesis 27).
One day God spoke to Abraham with an intention of making a covenant with man whom he chose as his partner. Abraham was told by God to leave his home to a different land since the people of Ur worshipped idols of wood and stone. The covenant made between them had a lot of promises. Abraham left with his wife Sarai, Lot his nephew,
It's the usual story, the usual stories. God to Adam, God to Noah. Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. Then comes the moldy old Rachel and Leah stuff we had drummed into us at the Center. Give me children, or else I die. Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? Behold my maid Bilhah. She shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have childre...
The incident in Genesis in which a woman interferes with this momentum involves Rebekah, who intervenes on behalf of her second born son, Jacob. As a result of Rebekah’s manipulative orders, Jacob, the younger son, inherits the divine blessing from Isaac, though it is clear from the text that Jacob’s brother, Esau, had been Isaac’s favored child. Rebekah’s actions are rebellious because they result in the violation of the law of primogeniture that seems to have been the standard practice of inheritance in the book of Genesis. And by reassigning the inheritance, Rebekah threatens to destroy the course of events god has anticipated en route to the creation of his select nation. While the text shows that Rebekah had received a prophecy that “the older would serve the younger” (25:23), whenever women in Genesis take assertive actions that ramifications, conflict always ensues. Just because Rebekah received a prophecy, there is no indication that she was in any position to actively seek its fulfillment. Jacob, as a result of his mother’s initiative, is forced to flee his home for fear that Esau will kill him. The hate between the brothers endures, and just as Sara’s infertility caused family conflict, Rebekah’s actions likewise cause disruption in the house of Isaac and its descendents. Unlike the instances where the men in genesis take the fate of their family’s lives into their own hands under open direction from god, the rare occasions when women, such as Rebekah, take aggressive action, the result is battles and feuds. As in the case of infertility, a women’s inheritance with the divine scheme can be seen as a multiple threat to the thematic framework of Genesis. Rebekah takes assertive, independent action with regard to her family’s development, and this action clearly crosses over the rigid boundaries of the prescribed female role.
The Old Testament and the Bible itself has been studied extensively for centuries. Archeologists and Scholars have labored and pondered over texts trying to decipher its clues. It does not matter how many times the Old Testament has been studied there will always be something new to learn about it or the history surrounding it. In the book Reading the Old Testament: an Introduction, the author Lawrence Boadt presents us with a few different authors of the Old Testament that used different names for God and had a unique insight into the texts. These four sources are titled P for priests, E for Elohim, J for Jehovah, and Y for Yahweh (95). These four unique sources help us realize that there is more than one author of the Pentateuch. These authors took the text and adapted for their culture. This independent source is used by scholars to help gain insight into what was behind the texts of the bible so we are not left with an incomplete picture of what went into the creation of the bible. Julius Wellhausen used these four sources to publish a book to able us to better understand the sources and to give it credibility with the Protestant scholars at the time (Boadt 94). These sources that is independent of the bible as in the DVD Who Wrote the Bible? and the Nova website aide in shedding light on the history that surrounded the writers who wrote the text and what inspired them to write it in the first place. The DVD shows the discovery of The Dead Sea Scrolls and the extensive history of the texts and all its sources in an effort to try to find exactly who wrote the bible (Who Wrote). These scrolls have aided scholars immensely by giving us some of the oldest known manuscripts of the bible in the world today. It shows that the bible w...
Unfortunately, Sarah was unable to bare children for many years. She even assigned blame, asserting, “The Lord has kept me from having children (Genesis 16:1).” God had promised Sarah she would bear children but Sarah grew impatient, as she often did. Now, Sarah turned to her Egyptian servant, Hagar. Sarah rendered Hagar to Abraham so that she could bear his child. Abraham consented to his wife’s wishes and later Ishmael was born. [The Book does not mention whether Hagar consented to this arrangement or not.] Now, both Sarah and Hagar were connected to Abraham. After Hagar conceives a child with Abraham, Sarah holds a certain level of antipathy towards her servant. Sarah feels that her servant holds her to a lower esteem because she cannot conceive, and Sarah starts to feels insignificant. In return, Sarah treats her servant harshly until finally Hagar flees from her. While in exile, an angel proposed that Hagar return to Sarah and Abraham and be subservient; in return, blessings would be bestowed upon
Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects.
Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, authors of How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, have written an easy-to-read book for those who want to learn more about what the Bible has to offer. The authors present distinct principles for interpreting different genres found in the Bible. The book has sold over half a million copies and is one of the most popular books regarding biblical interpretation. Fee is a seminary professor of New Testament studies at Regent College. He has authored several New Testament commentaries and is the general editor of the New International Commentary series.
The destructive part of her is that she and her sons keep secrets from her husband. For instance, Mary does not tell Jacob about Ben leaving home and that Ben contributed financially while Jacob was in recovery from an accident. As a result, Jacob feels treated in that house like an invisible person, which causes him to become angry towards his
In the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, we read of the fall of man. As we study the Bible and recognize it’s importance in our lives today we must realize the role these stories play in our time. The Bible is not simply a history book or a book of stories of morality, but it is a book that speaks to us today of how we should live and interact with God. We are confronted with this fact in Genesis “through a graphic and dramatic representation it gives a
Jacob first appears in the Bible in the book of Genesis. The Bible says that Esau was the firstborn of the twins. “Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.” (Genesis 25:26). The boys grew up, and Esau was described as a skillful hunter, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. Once when Jacob was cooking a stew in his tent, Esau came in from the from hunting in the fields and was famished. Jacob told Esau he would share with him his stew on the condition that Esau renounce his birthright to him. Esau accepted. Later, as their father, Isaac sat on his deathbed, he blessed Jacob, who was dressed in fur clothing to imitate Esau who had more body hair than Jacob. Isaac thought it was Esau he was blessing (Meeks 41). After this, Jacob’s mother advised him to go live with his Uncle Labon in Padan-Aram – afraid that Esau would become vengeful and kill Jacob after he tricked their father into giving him his blessing of the first born.
This scripture is an incredible story illustrating the faith that Abraham had in his God. God had made promises over a period of time that Abraham and Sarah would have a son even though Sarah’s child bearing age was past and there would be descendants more than the stars in the sky and more than the sand on the shore. Even though it was hard to believe, Abraham trusted God that His word would come to pass.