Session 03 Old Testament Overview Genesis chapters 12-50 Based on material from: Capitol Hill Baptist Church 525 A Street, NE Washington, DC 20002

1. Old Testament
Core Seminar
Class 3
“Genesis 12-50”
Old Testament Overview
1

2. Introduction
2
• “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14).
• Ask Abraham and Sarah! God turned laughter and disbelief in
to joy and truth.
• Genesis 1-11 cover creation through the flood and ends
where God “scattered them abroad from there over the face
of all the earth” (Gen 11:8b)
• Chapters 12-50 describe the promise and establishment of a
special family line and people through Abraham.
• The lives and families of Abraham, his son Isaac, and his son
Jacob.
• From father to the children - from the one promised to the
promise fulfilled.
• Crucial – here God begins to unfold his plan of redemption.
• God's special people, will live in God's special place,
under God's special rule.

3. Outline
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The 3 generations of Genesis: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
• Abraham chapters 12-23:
– God's call of Abram out of Mesopotamia.
– The progression of promises to him.
– The ratification at the end of this section.
– A covenant sign – circumcision.
– And a new name: Abraham.
– The troubled family history for Abraham and his family.
• Isaac chapters 24-28:
– Isaac and his wife Rebekah had twin sons, Jacob and Esau.
– Troubled with sin and faithlessness.
– A reminder of God's enduring mercy and unshakeable
love.

4. 4
• Jacob chapters 29-50:
– Multiple marriages and severely troubled family life.
– Focuses on Joseph – favorite son, sold into slavery in Egypt
and then into prison.
– From prison God lifts him to the highest office in the land.
– Joseph through this position brings a partial fulfillment to
“be a blessing to the nations”.
– And a savior of his own family.

5. 5
• Old women will give birth to sons,
• Younger brothers will rule the older,
• Arrogant men will be turned to humility,
• Slaves will become rulers, and
• Homeless will be given a home.
• God's storyline of promise is supernatural!
• The unexpected occurs.
• The impossible happens.
• God's sovereignty stands out boldly as supreme.

6. Recap of Genesis 1-11 – The Problem
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• God created the universe and all that exists.
• Adam and Eve created in a special place to live
• Commanded to be fruitful and multiply … But … they sinned!
• Adam & Eve condemned to a life of toil and strife, and death
• And the first glimmer of hope in a promise of salvation.
• The “enmity” is actually really good news—it means that the
seed of the woman will war against the seed of the serpent
• And that one day the seed of the woman would prevail.
• This promised one will be the one who will restore God's
people, to God's place, under God's rule.
• Moses is the author as God reveals this history to him.
• With chapter 12 we begin to get some dates – such as
Abraham around BC 2,000

7. 1. God and Abraham
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• Read Genesis 12:1-3
God’s Place: In verse 1 God promises Abraham a land.
• Recall, with Adam and Eve’s sin they were driven out of the
most perfect land there ever was: Eden.
• The land of Canaan, a real historic location, serves as a picture
of a greater reality to come – the new creation.
• It’s God reversing the fall and reestablishing a people to live in
a certain place under His rule and blessing.
• It’s not the complete return to Paradise, but a foreshadowing
of it.
• Abraham and his immediate descendants understood this
• Read Hebrews 11:8-10
• Hebrews 11:10b “looking forward to the city with
foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

8. 8
Great Nation: In verse 2 God promises to make Abraham a great.
• This great nation is God’s people.
• The Godly line which originated with the woman Eve, who will
eventually give birth to the Savior of the world.
Great Blessing: In verse 3 is God’s blessing
• Abraham and his descendants make up one family, one
nation.
• The blessing here is for all families–All who repent of their
sins and put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness,
eternal life, and a relationship with God.

9. 9
• Look at Genesis 15.
• God again promises Abram to become a great nation (v2)
• Abram was 75 when first given this promise – now he doubts.
• “Look up at the sky and count the stars if indeed you can” (v5)
– At sea level in rural level – 2,000.
– At all angles – 6,000
– Perfect conditions – 9,100 (Yale Bright Star Catalog)
• Key: “Abram [now] believed the LORD, and he credited it to
him as righteousness.” (emphasis mine)
• God seals this promise in a very unique way.
– God walks between 5 slaughtered animals.
– Inference is the breaking of the oath is death.
– Only God is to be held to the oath – Abram did not walk
• God is again overcoming an obstacle to keeping His promise.
• Adamic vs. Abrahamic covenants (conditional vs.
unconditional)

10. 2. God and Isaac
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• Abraham finally has a son … the promised one?
• No. Isaac makes plenty of mistakes – like his father did
• His death does not bring humanity back to God.
• But he does leave another heir.
• Is Esau the promised one?
• Though firstborn he is not.
• His younger brother, Jacob, caries on the promise.
• God has, through His free choice, decides to use Jacob that
His plan of redemption will continue.
• This introduces one of the more challenging doctrines in the
Bible … the doctrine of election.

11. 11
• Read Romans 9:10-13
• “(for the children not yet being born, nor having done any
good or evil, that the purpose of God according to
election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls)
it was said to her, "The older shall serve the younger.“
• God chose Jacob before either had done good or bad.
• To fulfill God’s purpose – to carry on the promise and
build his kingdom.
• Important: Becoming one of God’s people is by God’s
calling into faith – not by being a physical descendant of
Abraham.
• We have no rights over God! ALL that we get is by his
grace!
• It should humble us knowing that we have nothing to
offer God.

12. 3. God and Jacob
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• Starting with Jacob God begins to grow Abraham’s great
nation.
• Abraham had two sons – but only one legitimate son.
• Isaac had two sons – God choose the second born.
• Jacob/Israel has twelve sons.
• (So why do we sing, “Father Abraham had many sons …”?)
• God chooses Joseph for a special plan.
• God, through dreams, provide prophecy about Joseph’s future
role as savior.
• His brothers disdained him … plotted his death … sold him.
• In Egypt he worked up to a leadership position only to be
framed for rape.
• After time in prison, God lifted him up to 2nd in command of
Egypt.

13. 13
• Read Genesis 45:4-5
• Joseph charges them with selling him into slavery – a crime
they are truly guilty of.
• But that is not all, Read Genesis 50:20.
• “..as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for
good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many
people alive.”
• He understood his place in God’s plan.
• God’s grace in action!
• We are responsible for what we do – good or evil.
• But ultimately, God is in complete control – showing both
justice and mercy.
• There was more at stake here than just the people of Egypt.
God had promised Abraham his seed to bless the world—and
His promise to Adam and Eve of a Savior.

14. 14
• Sometimes it is very hard to see how God is in control when
so many tragic and disastrous things happen.
• We can’t understand what God is doing all the time – it’s a
mystery.
• The universe is not spinning out of the control.
• He is indeed doing good things in every situation, no matter
how hard it is to see that.
• Did Joseph see this while on the slave train or in prison?
• He had the right to ask why was this happening to him.
• We look back and see what God was doing: preparing to save
many lives through Joseph.
• Genesis ends with this picture of the greater good.
• Turns out Joseph isn’t the One Seed to come into the world –
its through Judah, his brother. (Genesis 49:8-10)

15. 15
• This is a prophecy that a king will come through Judah – the
savior promised to Adam and Eve.
• We have seen the amazing journey of three generations to
see God’s plan of redemption beginning to unfold.
• God’s people
– a people called by God through faith.
– In God’s place.
– Under God’s rule
– From the line of the promised Savior of the world.
• They have come under great attack through these chapters.
And yet God has saved them. God’s people remain in tact.
• But at what cost! Are God’s people still in God’s place?