.Huanga 
Lesson 19 – Abram: Faith and Fear (Gen. 12:10 – 13:1) |
Review of last week
God’s plan is to bless Abram
He left Mesopotamia and arrived in Huron. Then came upon Bethel Ai
There God made his promise
Abram was an idol worshiper
Observations
Famine caused Abram to go to Egypt
Sarai was beautiful
Abram was prideful of his wife, and lied, tells her to lie.
God doesn’t punish him but rather Pharoah
Abraham lacked faith, feared man
He made assumptions, that Egyptians would kill him and that they would take Sarai.
3 or 4 major sections
10-13: Famine that forces Abram to go to Egypt and the bad plan of Abram to lie
14-16: Life in Egypt, the fears come true
17-20: God Intervenes (sidenote: interesting that pharaoh reacted to the plagues)
Did Abram lack faith by going down to Egypt?
Sojourners- Travelers.
Taking the text, Abram was sojourning and just traveling, not dwelling.(however sojourn is also used to express a ten year span) However this is all debatable.
Large Group:
1. What is Abram afraid of according to vv. 11-13? Is his fear warranted, unwarranted, or both? Explain.
Abram was afraid that the Egyptian would want to take Sarai to be a slave for them and kill her husband to make this possible. It may be warranted, however, it shows his lack of faith in God in that God promised a seed to Abram
Afraid of death, possibly also for Sarai. Unwarranted because God’s promise is not fulfilled, there was no descendent yet. His immediate reaction showed fear of man. Abram most likely did not fully understand who God was and therefore not fully understand the plan. This was because Abram was young in the faith.
(sidenote: how often do we take matters into our own hands as well? Even knowing the full Word of God, we interject our own plan, no matter how old in the faith we are.)
Abram, the deeper his faith got, the more practical his faith became through his actions.
2. Read v.13. Wasn’t Sarai, in reality, Abram’s half-sister (Gen. 20:12)? Does that make Abram’s plan OK? What is especially shameful about Abram’s action (consider Sarai’s involvement)?
Yes, Sarai was Abram’s half sister- daughter of father but not mother, shared the same father.
No it doesn’t because a half-lie is still a lie and didn’t put his trust in God alone.
It led his wife to sin, i.e. lie, wife to Pharoah (the N.T. commands us to protect our wives and her purity)
3. What character trait is Abraham historically remembered for (Heb. 11:8-10)? What is ironic about his actions here? What sins exactly did he commit?
For his faith. Ironic is that his actions did now show that he had no faith.
(Fear of man, lie, deception, disobedience, low view of God, anxious, not trusting God’s Word)
Present day: filing taxes-claim a deduction, pad our resumes, rationalization-the power of a sinful mind
4. What did Abram jeopardize (other than Sarai) by his plans? (cf. 12:1-3)
That he was determined to make his own name great
God’s blessings, not trusting God’s plan, suffer consequences lost his wife.
Ultimately we jeopardize our walk/relationship with God.
5. Why was Abram given so much in v.16? Was this acquired honorably?
B/C Pharoah thought Abram was of value to Sarai, similar to a dowry. NOT honorably.
6. What does the plaguing of Pharaoh and his house teach us about God’s promise to Abram in 12:3?
That God keeps His promises DESPITE our sins. Even though Pharaoh didn’t know he was cursing Abram, he was. We need to trust God and not our own abilities.
7. The fact that Abram and his family receive riches and are left unharmed by Pharaoh teaches us what concerning the nature of God’s promise in 12:1-3?
God protects His people when His name is at stack
8. Who rebukes Abram in this passage? Why is Abram not harmed/killed?
Pharoah, “why have you done this to me.” This Pharoah was pretty wise, he immediately recognized, sent escorts and didn’t retaliate. Doesn’t record any response by Abram. God could have given Pharoah revelation that is not recorded which is why Pharoah was able to rebuke Abram. Could also be that God wanted to humble Abram by using a heathen to rebuke Abram.
9. Gen. 13:1 tells us that Lot went up with Abram. In 12:5, Lot is mentioned immediately after Abram and Sarai. Why is he mentioned after Abram, Sarai, and Abram’s belongings in 13:1?
RECAP-
God keeps His promises
Obey God or Else.
Our faith fails because our view of God is too small. (sidenote: we fail to pray because we think God is too small)
This text falls under the umbrella of God’s promise.
God protects the institution of Marriage. Sarai was not harmed (Pharoah said here is your wife) the marriage is still protected
God protecting His covenant
Deliverance doesn’t condone deception. **the ends DO NOT justify the means**
Application, we study the word of God to be more Christlike and to know about Him.
We need to trust God in all circumstances,even the most difficult. Whatever trials, we must trust that God is in control.
Circumstances should NOT dictate our actions. We simply need to obey.
Small Group:
1. What are some key promises of God found in His Word that give you peace, security, and confidence in Christ?
2. In what situations do you find it difficult to trust in God and His Word?
3. How is unbiblical fear manifested in your life? How can you effectively deal with this issue?
God’s plan is to bless Abram
He left Mesopotamia and arrived in Huron. Then came upon Bethel Ai
There God made his promise
Abram was an idol worshiper
Observations
Famine caused Abram to go to Egypt
Sarai was beautiful
Abram was prideful of his wife, and lied, tells her to lie.
God doesn’t punish him but rather Pharoah
Abraham lacked faith, feared man
He made assumptions, that Egyptians would kill him and that they would take Sarai.
3 or 4 major sections
10-13: Famine that forces Abram to go to Egypt and the bad plan of Abram to lie
14-16: Life in Egypt, the fears come true
17-20: God Intervenes (sidenote: interesting that pharaoh reacted to the plagues)
Did Abram lack faith by going down to Egypt?
Sojourners- Travelers.
Taking the text, Abram was sojourning and just traveling, not dwelling.(however sojourn is also used to express a ten year span) However this is all debatable.
Large Group:
1. What is Abram afraid of according to vv. 11-13? Is his fear warranted, unwarranted, or both? Explain.
Abram was afraid that the Egyptian would want to take Sarai to be a slave for them and kill her husband to make this possible. It may be warranted, however, it shows his lack of faith in God in that God promised a seed to Abram
Afraid of death, possibly also for Sarai. Unwarranted because God’s promise is not fulfilled, there was no descendent yet. His immediate reaction showed fear of man. Abram most likely did not fully understand who God was and therefore not fully understand the plan. This was because Abram was young in the faith.
(sidenote: how often do we take matters into our own hands as well? Even knowing the full Word of God, we interject our own plan, no matter how old in the faith we are.)
Abram, the deeper his faith got, the more practical his faith became through his actions.
2. Read v.13. Wasn’t Sarai, in reality, Abram’s half-sister (Gen. 20:12)? Does that make Abram’s plan OK? What is especially shameful about Abram’s action (consider Sarai’s involvement)?
Yes, Sarai was Abram’s half sister- daughter of father but not mother, shared the same father.
No it doesn’t because a half-lie is still a lie and didn’t put his trust in God alone.
It led his wife to sin, i.e. lie, wife to Pharoah (the N.T. commands us to protect our wives and her purity)
3. What character trait is Abraham historically remembered for (Heb. 11:8-10)? What is ironic about his actions here? What sins exactly did he commit?
For his faith. Ironic is that his actions did now show that he had no faith.
(Fear of man, lie, deception, disobedience, low view of God, anxious, not trusting God’s Word)
Present day: filing taxes-claim a deduction, pad our resumes, rationalization-the power of a sinful mind
4. What did Abram jeopardize (other than Sarai) by his plans? (cf. 12:1-3)
That he was determined to make his own name great
God’s blessings, not trusting God’s plan, suffer consequences lost his wife.
Ultimately we jeopardize our walk/relationship with God.
5. Why was Abram given so much in v.16? Was this acquired honorably?
B/C Pharoah thought Abram was of value to Sarai, similar to a dowry. NOT honorably.
6. What does the plaguing of Pharaoh and his house teach us about God’s promise to Abram in 12:3?
That God keeps His promises DESPITE our sins. Even though Pharaoh didn’t know he was cursing Abram, he was. We need to trust God and not our own abilities.
7. The fact that Abram and his family receive riches and are left unharmed by Pharaoh teaches us what concerning the nature of God’s promise in 12:1-3?
God protects His people when His name is at stack
8. Who rebukes Abram in this passage? Why is Abram not harmed/killed?
Pharoah, “why have you done this to me.” This Pharoah was pretty wise, he immediately recognized, sent escorts and didn’t retaliate. Doesn’t record any response by Abram. God could have given Pharoah revelation that is not recorded which is why Pharoah was able to rebuke Abram. Could also be that God wanted to humble Abram by using a heathen to rebuke Abram.
9. Gen. 13:1 tells us that Lot went up with Abram. In 12:5, Lot is mentioned immediately after Abram and Sarai. Why is he mentioned after Abram, Sarai, and Abram’s belongings in 13:1?
RECAP-
God keeps His promises
Obey God or Else.
Our faith fails because our view of God is too small. (sidenote: we fail to pray because we think God is too small)
This text falls under the umbrella of God’s promise.
God protects the institution of Marriage. Sarai was not harmed (Pharoah said here is your wife) the marriage is still protected
God protecting His covenant
Deliverance doesn’t condone deception. **the ends DO NOT justify the means**
Application, we study the word of God to be more Christlike and to know about Him.
We need to trust God in all circumstances,even the most difficult. Whatever trials, we must trust that God is in control.
Circumstances should NOT dictate our actions. We simply need to obey.
Small Group:
1. What are some key promises of God found in His Word that give you peace, security, and confidence in Christ?
2. In what situations do you find it difficult to trust in God and His Word?
3. How is unbiblical fear manifested in your life? How can you effectively deal with this issue?
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home