This week we are continuing our study in the book of Genesis with chapters 23-24. The story begins to change here as we leave Abraham and Sarah and move into the lives of Isaac and Rebekah who are given the Covenant Promise from God. This study will help us understand the history and importance of not only the faithfulness of God through His Covenant Promise, but the love He has for His people as seen in His sovereignty as He protects His promised people.

Defending our faith and developing a Biblical worldview based on our understanding of God’s Word takes time and practice, and must be part of a lifetime commitment we make to the LORD. It should form our purpose and identity in everyday life as we grow closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, modeling Him to our family, friends and neighbors. As Christians, it is more important than ever to know what we believe, and why we believe it, and then apply that to who we are on a consistent basis, and this can only be done if we know Jesus and what His Word teaches.

All class sessions include a time for prayer and reflection, a presentation, and a Bible study section. You will find the presentation overview and Bible study questions below with basic answers for your review and, or to use as a leader’s guide.

Presentation

Foundations Bible Study
Genesis Chapters 23-24

OPEN AND REVIEW

Prayer cards: Take a minute and write your name on the index card provided, and add any special prayer request you might have. Exchange cards at the end of the class.

Review:

What did we learn about Abraham and Isaac in chapter 22, and the foreshadowing of Jesus?
What is our focus verse, why is it important, and what other Covenants does it relate to?

Focus verse

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT

“Now the Lord said to Abram,

“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.””

Genesis 12:1-3 (NASB)

Three Parts of the Covenant:

Land
Nation
Blessing – (relates to the Seed Promise)

God’s Covenant Promise of Messiah, fulfilled in Jesus

Following the Seed Promise of Messiah:

Genesis 3:15 – The Adamic Covenant (The Seed Promise begins the scarlet thread)
Genesis 6:18 – Noahic Covenant (the Seed Promise carried through the Great Flood, and also affirmed in the “Rainbow Promise” of Genesis 9:8-17)
Genesis 12:1-3 – Abrahamic Covenant (Unfolds the Seed Promise with the blessing to come)
Genesis 26:3-5 – Promise goes through Isaac (the Abrahamic Covenant passed on to this son of promise)
Genesis 28:13-15 – Promise goes on through Jacob/Israel (Seed promise expanded to a Nation)
Genesis 49:8-12 – Promise will come through the tribe of Judah (Seed will have the Scepter forever)
2 Samuel 7:12-16/1 Chronicles 17:11-14 – Davidic Covenant (The Seed Promise will be a King forever from the line of David)
Jeremiah 31:31-34 – The Promise of a New Covenant to come (Seed Promise to be fulfilled)
Luke 22:14-20 – Fulfillment of the New Covenant by Jesus (Seed Promise fulfilled in Jesus)
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 – The New Covenant repeated and confirmed by the Apostles and early believers
Hebrews 9:15 – The reason Jesus is the fulfilment of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8-10 for a deeper study on Jesus’ fulfillment of all that was promised concerning Messiah/Seed Promise)
Revelation 1:7 – “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.”

Chapter Reading for Step #3: Context
– What does it say?

Chapter 23

23:1-9
23:10-16
23:17-20

Discuss (summarize) the chapter

Q. (Genesis 23:1-20) The culture of that day was one of respect, yet bargaining was expected (as it is in most of the Middle East still today). What happened that caused Abraham to want to find land to buy? Discuss: Abraham would now own property in the Promised Land. Why do you think that might be important later on?

23 Now Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. ²Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ³Then Abraham rose from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, ⁴“I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” ⁵The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, ⁶“Hear us, my lord, you are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead.” ⁷So Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. ⁸And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish for me to bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and approach Ephron the son of Zohar for me, ⁹that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he owns, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in your presence for a burial site.” ¹⁰Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth; even of all who went in at the gate of his city, saying, ¹¹“No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.” ¹²And Abraham bowed before the people of the land. ¹³He spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will only please listen to me; I will give the price of the field, accept it from me that I may bury my dead there.” ¹⁴Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, ¹⁵“My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.” ¹⁶Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, commercial standard. ¹⁷So Ephron’s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were within all the confines of its border, were deeded over ¹⁸to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. ¹⁹After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. ²⁰So the field and the cave that is in it, were deeded over to Abraham for a burial site by the sons of Heth.

Sarah had died (at the age of 127) and Abraham wanted to buy property for a burial place.
Abraham was met with great respect when he offered to buy land from the “sons of Heth,” they called him a “mighty prince among them,” and even though it was customary to bargain for the land, Abraham paid the full price.
The purchase deal would not only guarantee that the land was his, it was his for the long term because it guaranteed no special deal or agreement that the “sons of Heth” could later claim.
This ownership for Abraham is the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promise in this land (even though full ownership is future).
This land ownership also allowed the descendants of Abraham to be buried there as Isaac, Jacob, Leah and Joseph would later be.
Cultural note: It was important in ancient times for generations to take care of the remains of their descendants by moving the bones to the back of the cave (later in bone boxes) to make room for new burials. This practice relates to the term “being gathered to your people,” so having a set family location for burial was culturally essential.

Chapter Reading for Step #3: Context
– What does it say?

Chapter 24

24:1-9
24:10-18
24:19-28
24:29-34
24:35-41
24:42-51
24:52-61
24:62-67

Discuss (summarize) the chapter

Q. (Genesis 24:1-67) This passage is a stand-alone picture of a beautiful love story, one that was God ordained. All participants were willing (and trusting of what God’s plan was, though not directly said, but implied). Each had a vital role to play in God’s big picture and covenant promise moving forward.

How God’s sovereignty played out:

(Answers may vary, but might include…)

God led the Servant directly to Abraham’s family
Before he even finished his prayer, Rebekah came out with her jar – she fulfilled all of the Servant’s requests by…
- being a part of Abraham’s family (some scholars think she is exactly the one Abraham was thinking about since he had gotten news of his brother’s growing family)
- doing exactly what the Servant had prayed for (watering the camels, which was no small task to offer)
- offered them a place to stay
- willingly agreed to go with them and marry Isaac

Q. Why do you think it was important for Isaac to get a wife from Abraham’s relatives and not from the local Canaanites?

Because of God’s Promise concerning the land, Abraham wanted Isaac to marry from his family and not the Canaanites. This was a common and accepted practice in these days.
God had not forbidden it yet (it will be in the Law during Moses’ time).
The Canaanites were Pagans and would later become enemies of the Nation of Israel.
The Canaanites were also cursed from Noah’s time (the incident with Ham and exposing his father’s nakedness to his brothers).

Q. Going Deeper: Are there any parts of this story that might be a foreshadow of something greater?

Some scholars teach the foreshadowing, or typology here as follows:

Typologies: (Isaac and Rebekah’s love story)

Isaac can be seen as a ‘type of Christ’ who was an obedient son to the father, and who eagerly and patiently waited for his bride
Eliezar, Abraham’s servant, can be seen as a type of the Holy Spirit who leads the bride to Christ as directed by the Father
Rebekah can be seen as a type of the Church, the bride of Christ, who faithfully comes to Isaac and trusts that what God has done is in line with the purpose of her life
Note: There is always a picture of God’s Covenant Promise in Scripture, and sometimes its fulfillment as will be in Heaven = Christ (Jesus) and His Bride (All His People) will be perfectly united for all eternity!

Step #5: Application for chapters 23-24
– How do I use what I have learned?

Answers will vary…

HOMEWORK

Continue reading on through the book of Genesis, chapters 25-50 (or go back and review Genesis chapters 1-24) to get the big picture of what we are, and will be studying!

Go through our next class called “Jesus Blueprint” and then return to this class as we will continue on through the book of Genesis!

Please continue to join us each week as we study about, and through, God’s Word!

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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in! Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.

Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.

Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.

Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15