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Logos Ministries Incorporated
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GLIMPSES OF GOD - II This is an inductive study of Genesis, chapters 26 - 50. The author leads the reader through an inductive study of the last half of the book. THE INTRODUCTION Volume II is an intense study of Genesis chapters 26 - 50. We designed this study so that you can approach it from one of two ways. You can read the white pages of this book and hopefully the portion of Scripture will take on new meaning and life for you as you study with us. We will attempt to help you see the message through the eyes of the author. The second approach is that you can answer the questions, found on the colored pages of the text, for yourself before you read the text of this book. This will enable you to compare your observations with ours. The book of Genesis does not tell us who wrote the message. Early Jewish writers have solidly stood for the Mosaic authorship of Genesis, as well as the rest of the Pentateuch - the first five books of the Bible. It appears that Jesus and other New Testament personalities believed that Moses wrote Genesis as well as the other four books of the Pentateuch. More recent writers have favored looking elsewhere for the authorship of Genesis. I cannot prove my position, but I believe Moses wrote the book of Genesis. As we begin this study of the second half of the book of Genesis, we need to note that we will be using Inductive Bible Study. It is not pouring one's own interpretation into the text, but letting the text speak for itself. Very often, the way a message is written carries as much meaning as the message itself. In this study, we will focus our attention on three parts of Inductive Bible Study:
Within this study, we will attempt to focus our attention on each of these parts. As you may remember, from volume one, the author focused on the lives of outstanding men of Israel. This was a means by which to convey several very intense messages about God. Genesis chapters six through ten focus on the life of Noah. In this story the author portrays the dual picture of both the indescribable mercy and irresistible justice of God. God displayed His mercy in His protection of Noah in the ark. The other side of this picture is the justice of God. He sent the flood because of the exceeding sinfulness of the people. Despite what people might think about God, justice and judgment had to come because of their affront to the justice and holiness of God. It is in the telling of Noah's story that one discovers a deeper understanding of God. In Genesis 12-25, the author tells the story of Abram/Abraham. In the telling of the experiences of Abraham's life, the author adds paint-stroke by paint-stroke until he records the death of the patriarch. By so doing, he draws back the curtain on the character of God. It was the God who told Abraham "I will take you to a land..." and He did it. God told Abraham he would give him a son in his very old age and He did it. In all of this we see the faithfulness of God more clearly than any factual statement could do. This design is just as clearly portrayed in chapters 26 through 50. In this portion of the book, the author focuses our attention on the lives of two people: Jacob and Joseph. In chapters 27 through 35, the author paints a picture of the life of Jacob or Israel as he was later called. He was cunning and willful. Nevertheless, God worked in his life and entered into covenant with him. The author gives us a beautiful glimpse of the character of God as he describes the events of Jacob's life. Chapters 37 through 50 focus on the story of Joseph. There is a contrast between the goodness of Joseph and the evil ways of his brothers. From the beginning of the story, it appears that evil prospers and righteousness suffers. This is quite true to life. It certainly seems that way in day to day living. By the end of the story, however, it is clear that righteousness ultimately triumphs and unrighteousness is punished. In every experience of the story there is additional information about what God is like. We will talk more about this when we have completed the study. |
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