Genesis: Outline of Contents
The universe, the earth, and man (1:1-2:25)
Man's fall and the results of sin (3:1-5:32)
The story of Noah (6:1-9:29)
The scattering of the human race (10:1-11:32)
The Life of Abraham (12:1-25:18)
Isaac and his family (25:19-26:35)
Jacob and his sons (27:1-37:1)
The life of Joseph (37:2-50:26)
(From the NIV Bible)
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 19 Genesis 1, 2 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3)
God is the creator and the sustainer of the world. He is “the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not” (Romans 4:17). Nothing is impossible to God. He created man, the apex of his creation, to worship him and to experience the beauty of his creation. Because God is our creator and the sustainer of our existence we honor and love of him.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 21 Genesis 5, 6 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died. (Genesis 5:21, 27)
The Bible declares, “Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.” Why don’t we live that long anymore? We don’t live pass 100 years because of mankind propensity to grow in sin as their lifespans increase. Right before the Flood, then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 21 Genesis 7, 8 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
8 Then he [Noah] sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. 9 But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. 10 He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. 11 When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. 12 He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him. (Genesis 8:8:12)
The dove is a symbol of peace, it brought back to Noah a freshly plucked olive leaf as a symbol of reconciliation after the Flood. The dove is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit. At his baptism, Jesus saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him (Matthew 3:16). We obtain reconciliation with God through the work of salvation of our Savior Jesus Christ who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit who give us peace.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 23 Genesis 9, 10 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceededto plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked. (Genesis 9:20-23)
Ham dishonored his father, Noah, and consequently got cursed by his father. Children must understand that even their sinful parents deserve their honor and fear, because no one can develop a proper love for God without first honoring their parents.
Fear and honor of God starts with our initial fear and honor of our parents. We learn to respect authority from our parents, and without learning what authority is in our youth, we cannot develop the proper fear and love of God as adults. So when Ham dishonored his father, he sinned against his father and more so against God.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 24 Genesis 11, 12 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 9:2-23)
These promises are amazing considering that Abram was quite old and had no children when God made the promises to him. He believed God and acted on his belief. “Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran (v. 4). We must also believe God and act on his promises since we are also beneficiaries of these grand promises. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). We can expect great things from the Lord.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 25 Genesis 13, 14 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. (Genesis 14:14-16)
A lot of Christians refuse to forgive or cannot forgive a brother who had slightly wronged them, but because Abraham was so close to God, he not only forgave Lot, but he put his life and the life of his men in danger to save his nephew Lot. Why? Because his heart was one with the heart of God, a merciful, compassionate and forgiving God. Most of us would have said when they heard the news of the Lots’ captivity, “good for him, ce bon pou li, li jwen sa-l tap chache ya.” But we should be like Abram, ready to forgive and to act in love.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. (1 John 3:16)
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 26 Genesis 15, 16 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:5-6)
God did not want Abraham to lose sight of his promises, so he gave him daytime and nighttime visual prompts for remembrance. In Genesis 22:17, God declared to Abraham“I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore”. As it was very important for Abraham to be reminded day and night of the promises of God, it is also important for us to have the word of God constantly in our sight; to read it, to think about it, and to listen to it.
My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body. (Proverbs 4:20-22)
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 27 Genesis 17, 18 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” 13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” (Genesis 18:11-14)
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” God asked Abraham and Sarah this rhetorical question not to get an answer from them, but instead to empathize his omnipotence. Having a child for a ninety year old woman appears humanly impossible, but for God nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37).
You may be having a problem right now which seems impossible, in that case you must ask yourself the same question that God asked Abraham and Sarah: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” The answer is obvious, “nothing is too hard for the Lord.” You don’t need to worry, all you need is faith in God (Matthew 17:20).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 28 Genesis 19, 20 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived. (Genesis 19:27-29)
In Haiti, we used to say “ L’ami de mon ami est mon ami, The friend of my friend is my friend.” Lot was fortunate to have an uncle, Abraham, who was a friend of God. “So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived (v. 29).” I have seen people jockeying to be friends with people who are well-off, but neglecting people who are friends of God. I’d rather have friends who are friends of God.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 29 Genesis 21, 22 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you. (Genesis 22:1-5)
We are in God’s school, and like every school there are exams to pass to get to the next level. But in God’s school the tests have one specific goal, “to teach us to trust the word of God and to live by it.” In Deuteronomy 8:3, God told the people that he put them to the test so that they may learn “that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
Once we learn to trust God’s word, to obey it and to act on it, we need no more tests.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 30 Genesis 23, 24 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
17 The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”
18 “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
19 After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. (Genesis 24:17-20)
There are two great tests for a successful marriage relationship. The test of communication and the test of generosity. The servant put Rebekah through those two tests and she passed them with flying colors (v. 18-19). She got an A+, therefore she qualified herself to be the wife of Isaac, the son of the promise. Young Christian men and women should be compassionate and generous. They should develop those spiritual qualities before they seriously consider getting married.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 31 Genesis 25, 26 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:33-34)
We should let the author of the book of Hebrews comment on Esau’s poor choice.
“14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done. (Hebrews 12:14-17)
God will always forgive us our sins when we repent, however we must live with the consequences of our foolish sins.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 1 Genesis 27, 28 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” (Genesis 28:15-17)
God promised Jacob that he will be with him and will watch over him wherever he goes (v. 15), still Jacob tried to localize God in that that specific place that he called Bethel, the house of God. We too can make the same mistake of thinking that God resides in a special place, instead of holding to the Lord’s promise that he will always be with us wherever we are. An awareness of the ever presence of God with us gives us peace and security.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 2 Genesis 29, 30 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
28 And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29 Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. 30 Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. 32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,[b] for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.” (Genesis 30:28-32)
Leah’s situation is one of the most painful stories of the Bible. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations similar to Leah’s. With no fault of our own we find ourselves suffering, humiliated and not loved. People made no choice of their race, no choice of their nationality but they can find themselves being discriminated against because of their race and nationality. What can they do?
In the time of her misery, Leah’s turned to God to help her. “When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive (v. 31).” The Lord can turn sadness into joy.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 3 Genesis 31, 32 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
10 “In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. 11 The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 12 And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’”(Genesis 31:10-13)
God doesn’t need us to make vows in order to bless us, but once we make a vow to the Lord, we need to remember that the Lord remembers our vows and we will be tested accordingly. Jacob made a sincere vow to the Lord in Genesis 28:20-22, the Lord fulfilled his part of the vow, and now he is asking Jacob to fulfill his part (v. 13). Have you made a vow to the Lord? I know many Haitian Christians who made vows to the Lord when they were in Haiti, and once they come to the US, they seem to have forgotten their vows.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 4 Genesis 33, 34 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. 2 He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. 3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. (Genesis 33:1-5)
When the LORD takes pleasure in anyone's way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them (Psalms 16:7). The peace between Esau and Jacob was a win-win situation, both of them benefitted. The Lord desires the same thing for us, which is why he asks us to pray for our enemies, to bless them instead of cursing them.
When we pray for our enemies, they win and we also win. We help them spiritually, and we are also transformed into the image of our Father in Heaven who causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45)
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 5 Genesis 35, 36 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.” (Genesis 35:1)
It seems that once again Jacob forgot the vow that he made to the Lord while he was fleeing from his brother Esau. God had to remind him about his vow. Man can forget their promises to God, but God cannot forget his promises to man. God is faithful, he wants us to be also faithful, and so he keeps reminding us of our promises.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 6 Genesis 37, 38 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” (Genesis 37:17-20)
The family of Israel looks like a big dysfunctional family. One finds all the tabloid stuff in that family, murder, adultery, cheating, lying, and almost every human vices. We wonder why God allowed such a disturbing biography of the chosen family in the Bible. Romans 15:4 gives us the answer, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”
God’s grace goes beyond our own worthiness. The Lord can use every one of us for his glory.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 7 Genesis 39, 40 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. (Genesis 39:20-23)
Last night we pre-screened at our church the movie “Tortured for Christ.” This is a very moving story of Christians being tortured and even killed because of their faith in the Lord Jesus. It is God who gives the strength to his true servants to endure to the end. His presence is their consolation in persecution. “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 5:19).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 8 Genesis 41, 42 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine. (Genesis 41:25-27)
The Bible tell us to pray for our leaders without exception (1 Timothy 2:1-3). We ought to pray for them so that they might make godly decisions even when they don’t know God. We may note that God gave the revelation to Pharaoh, just because Pharaoh was the leader and could act on the revelation. Joseph knew God better than Pharaoh, but he understood his role in the big plan of God. In that instance he was a dream interpreter not a dream maker.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 9 Genesis 43, 44 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
16 “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.”
17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.” (Genesis 44:16-17)
The word of God makes it clear, “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open” Luke 8:17). But people persist in deceiving themselves that their secret deeds will stay concealed forever. Not so. If not in this world, in the world to come every deed will be brought out into the open, unless there is true repentance.
The brothers of Joseph understood clearly that the tests that they were going through were brought down to them directly from God, and they repented. Joseph wanted to see true repentance from his brothers, just like the Lord Jesus wants to see true repentance from us.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 10 Genesis 45, 46 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
2 And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
3 “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 4 I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.” (Genesis 46:2-4)
God spoke to Jacob, and I believe that he is willing to speak to us as he spoke to Jacob. There are fundamental truths in the Bible which preclude of asking God for additional directions. By example 2 Corinthians 6:14 explicitly tells us “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” A Christian doesn’t need any additional direction on a decision not to be yoked with unbelievers.
But, how do you know which believers to be yoked with? That decision require a lot of prayer and seeking clear direction from the Lord. Jacob got his direction after “he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac” (46:1). We too will get our clear direction from the Lord after that through Jesus, we offer to God sacrifices of praise--the fruit of lips that openly profess his name” (Hebrews 13:15).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 11 Genesis 47, 48 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
17 When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.” 20 He blessed them that day and said, “In your[c] name will Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh. ’”So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. (Genesis 48:17-20)
Grandparents have a big responsibility toward their grandchildren. The responsibilty to bless them. The grandparents should refrain themselves no matter what the circumstances to pronounce idle words regarding their grandchildren. Their words can either be a curse or a blessing. They should always bless, not curse. Joseph was displeased because Jacob, his father, put his right hand on his youngest son instead of the oldest (v. 17). But, notice that Jacob, their grandfather, blessed both of them equally (v. 20).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Genesis Challenge – Day 12 Genesis 49, 50 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
We have reached the end of the Book of Genesis Challenge, tomorrow we start the Book of Numbers Challenge.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. (Genesis 50:18-21)
We should imitate Joseph in dealing with our Brothers and Sisters’ offences against us. Joseph understood clearly the sovereignty of God. He knew that his life was at the center of the will of God, therefore he could forgive his brothers without reservation. Joseph is a picture of the Lord Jesus in the Old Testament, he surrendered himself to the will of God, just as Jesus totally submitted himself to the will of the Father. On the cross, Jesus shows his heart of forgiveness praying for his enemies. He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).
May the Lord richly bless you!