INTRODUCTION GENESIS | 3
Isaac fathers twins, Esau and Jacob( 25:19— 36:43). Jacob— whose name God changes to“ Israel”— has 12 sons, including Joseph. Through a series of challenging events, Joseph eventually claims a powerful role in Egypt’ s royal court, and his family joins him in Egypt where, unfortunately, they will one day be enslaved( chs. 37 – 50; see Exodus).
At every stage of the story, characters take matters into their own hands and often suffer painful consequences, yet God remains faithful to his promises and his people, now known as Israel.
OUTLINE
• Creation, sin and the early history of the nations( 1:1— 11:32)
• The life of Abraham( 12:1— 25:18)
• The lives of Isaac and Jacob( 25:19— 36:43)
• The lives of Joseph and his brothers( 37:1— 50:26)
THEMES
Adam and Eve’ s choices compromised our ability to live in God’ s image; Genesis tells the story of the beginning of God’ s effort to renew his image in us. In Genesis, the people of Israel are selected to initiate God’ s grand plan of salvation by being a blessing to the world— a plan that is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus.
The major themes of promise and blessing run throughout the patriarchal narratives, as God’ s promises are repeated to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Their failures send a clear message that God’ s blessing is not because of any merit or righ teous ness on their own part; instead, God’ s blessing reflects his desire to restore humanity to right relationship with him. Genesis is the story of God calling people to turn from the sinful world and obey him.