The Bible from Start to Finish: A Concise Commentary for Reading Through the Bible

By Harold Anderson

Knowledge is knowing where to find it. 

This book will guide you to answers you have 

always wanted to know about the Bible. 

You will see the greatest people with their faults. You will experience human feelings as you read how they struggled with decisions of

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Mar 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9781685569822

Book preview

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THE

Bible

From Start to Finish

Harold Anderson

The Bible from Start to Finish

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Trilogy Christian Publishers

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Copyright © 2023 by Harold M. Anderson

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.

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Introduction

For several years, I have made it my practice to read the Bible through three times a year. I read the Bible for familiarity. As a pastor, I have taught the Bible all the way through three times. In addition, I posted a brief commentary on Facebook every day for one year called The Bible from Start to Finish. That is the title of this book. This is a concise commentary with explanations, some illustrations, and some applications. This is a handbook for the serious Bible reader. My goal is to challenge you to read the Bible at least once every year and to study the Bible as you read. This will increase your familiarity with the Bible and your knowledge of what the Bible says and means.

Every chapter in the Bible is addressed in the book, even an explanation of the genealogies. Some of the Bible is history, some is poetry, some is prophecy, some is narrative, and some fit into what we call epistles (letters). Each genre requires a certain hermeneutic (principle of interpretation) to understand the meaning. These hermeneutical principles make sense when you understand them, but most Bible readers have had little or no instruction as to their importance. The Bible from Start to Finish will help you see the Bible through hermeneutical lenses that will make interpretation easier.

Repetition is an important principle of teaching. The Holy Spirit has repeated the most important ideas throughout the Old and New Testaments. This Bible handbook will help you to recognize those ideas, facts, and prophecies. For instance, the creation of the world and mankind, the entrance of sin into the world, the worldwide Flood, and the beginning of races and languages are revealed in the first eleven chapters of the Bible. Genesis chapter 12 to the end of the Old Testament is all about Israel. That is important because Jesus the Messiah had to come through Israel. In the Old Testament is the promise of the Christ. In the New Testament is the Christ of the promise. The Bible is not a history book, but it is authoritative when it speaks to history. It is not a science book, but it is accurate when it speaks to matters of science. It is not a book of poetry, but it has large sections and individual books that are written in poetry. The Bible speaks to the total man—intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. But it speaks to the need of a Savior and how that Savior redeemed us through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the grave.

Context is important in interpreting the Bible. It not only requires an understanding of genre but an understanding of what is said before and after a particular passage. It also requires the context of the whole book and even the whole Bible. Jesus said the Scriptures can’t be broken (John 10:35). That means the sixty-six individual books of the Bible form a complete unit, and that unit is consistent with itself. Every book of the Bible fits somewhere in the context of the written revelation of God. Verses and chapter divisions weren’t in the original writings. They were added to help us find our locate verses and remember where to find parts we are interested in. Sometimes, however, the divisions keep us from seeing the relation of certain verses to what comes before or after. In other words, it is easy to mistake the meaning of a verse by not considering its context.

The objective for studying the Bible should be to understand each book, each chapter, and each verse in relation to the whole. The Bible from Start to Finish will help you do that. Don’t be surprised when your preconceived ideas are confronted or when you discover the truth is different than what you expected. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16a, NKJV). That means the words of the Bible are God-breathed, even though human authors wrote the words. Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21, NKJV). The Holy Spirit in a Christian bears witness with the very words he inspired so He may teach us (2:20, 27). The Bible from Start to Finish will direct you to the original intention of the author, so the Holy Spirit may teach you the Word of Truth.

God bless you as you allow the Holy Spirit to teach you while you read the Bible and use this Bible handbook to guide you in your studies. Don’t be surprised when you begin to talk about what you are learning, and for some of you, when you desire to teach what you are learning to others. This will be a great adventure, no matter if you read and study the Bible every year or if you take longer. You can go at your own pace. God will meet you where you are.

Lesson 1:

Read Genesis Chapters 1 to 2

Genesis 1:1 to 2:3

The Universe Was Created.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1, NKJV). This refers to the dateless past when the Lord brought the universe into existence. God (Elohim) reveals His creative power by speaking things into existence.

Matter is not eternal. It began when God spoke it into existence. Herbert Spencer was a non-Christian English philosopher, biologist, and anthropologist known for his categories of the knowable. Everything in existence fits into one of these five categories: time, force, action, space, and matter. The first verse of the Bible addresses all these categories. In the beginning (time), God (force) created (action) the heavens (space) and the earth (matter). Genesis 1:1 is the account of the only person who witnessed it, the Creator. Moses simply recorded what God said. It is so simple my great-grandchildren can understand it.

During the Darwin centennial celebration in Chicago (November 26, 1959), Julian Huxley declared, In the evolutionary pattern of thought, there is no longer need or room for the supernatural. The earth was not created; it evolved… Huxley opted for a complex system of philosophy that could be explained without a supernatural cause.

The person who can’t believe Genesis 1:1 is the person who doesn’t want to. If a person will not believe Genesis 1:1, he needs not to bother reading the remaining 31,101 verses in the Bible. Jesus said, If you do not believe his [Moses’] writings, how will you believe My words? (John 5:46–47, NKJV) (Hereinafter, brackets added for clarity.) […] the Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35b, NKJV).

Creation is not a matter for science. Science is based on observation, experimentation, and replication. There is no such thing as creation science. The origin of the universe does not fall into the category of empirical science. Call it what you want; just don’t call it science. Call it philosophy, call it naturalism, but don’t call it science.

Belief in evolution is a faith, just like belief in the Creator is a faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen (Hebrews 11:1, NKJV). Faith depends on what you hope for.

Genesis 1:1–2 declares that God created the heavens and the earth. The details of creation are given in the rest of the chapter.

Day 1: God commanded the light to shine and divided the light from the darkness (verses 3 to 5). The light came from God Himself. He clothes Himself in light (Psalm 104:2).

Day 2: God created the sky (firmament) and divided the waters from the waters (verses 6 to 8). The lower waters were the oceans and the seas. The upper waters were vapors that originally covered earth (1:2). The upper waters collapsed in the Flood of Noah (7:11–12; 9:11–15).

Day 3: God gathered the waters and caused dry land to appear, making the earth and the seas (verses 9 to 13). God also caused plants to appear.

Day 4: God created the sun and moon to divide night and day and to mark the days, years, and seasons (verses 14 to 19).

Day 5: God fills the waters with fish and living creatures. He made birds to fly in the sky (verses 20 to 23).

Day 6: Animals were formed out of the dust or the ground, and man was created (verses 24 to 31). God created man in His own image. God said, "Let Us make man in Our image […] so God created man in His own image" (Genesis 1:26–27a, NKJV). (Hereinafter, emphasis added.) The Hebrew word for God is Elohim (plural), and the pronouns used of Him are plural. God is a Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Mankind was created as an imager of God to have dominion over His creation (verses 27 to 31).

Day 7: God rested from His work (2:1–3). This is a picture of the rest promised to those who trust in Christ for salvation and a rest from their works (Hebrews 4:1–11).

Genesis 2:4–25

Man was created.

This is not a second account of creation but an explanation of how God created man in chapter 1. Man’s body was formed from the earth, but his life came from the breath of God. He became a living soul. Man was created with a body (life consciousness), a soul (self-consciousness), and a spirit (God consciousness). The word for soul is also used of animals (1:21, 24). Animals have a body and a soul but not a spirit. The spirit of man has a consciousness of God, a conscience toward God, and an instinct to worship Him. Woman was created out of man (verse 21), which is what the word means. Marriage was given as the first institution (verses 23 to 25).

Lesson 2:

Read Genesis Chapters 3 to 5

In Genesis chapter 1, God is the subject. His name appears thirty-five times. When creation was finished, God declared it was very good. In Genesis chapter 2, man is the subject. He is seen as the center of relationships. The only thing that was not good was that man was alone, so He made Eve and performed the first marriage ceremony.

Genesis Chapters 3 to 5

The Fall.

1. Man falls (Genesis 3:1–24).

The devil takes center stage. He was cunning, in a negative sense. The New Testament refers to his wiles. Satan, the fallen angelic being that covered the throne of God, appeared as a serpent. Henry Morris suggests the serpent was a shining upright creature. That makes sense since Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14, NKJV). At any rate, he brought nothing but darkness. That is Satan’s goal. That is his domain.

Genesis chapter 3 answers the question: What went wrong with God’s perfect world? The answer is darkness. Darkness is the devil’s delight. It is depravity. It is unmitigated evil. […] men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil (John 3:19b, NKJV). Thus, evil turned God’s perfect world into a dark (and darkening) wilderness.

Adam, the federal head of the human race, died that day. It took 930 years for his body to expire, but his spirit was immediately separated from God.

Worse is the result on the human race. In Adam all die (1 Corinthians 15:22, NKJV). You won’t understand the cross until you understand what happened in Eden. Because of Adam, humanity was ruined. Every son and daughter of Adam is under the same curse as Adam. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (Romans 5:12, KJV). The story of man didn’t end in Eden. The story of man is the story of sin and death.

2. Man keeps falling (chapter 4).

This chapter records the effects of Adam’s sin on his posterity. Adam’s son Cain murdered his own brother Abel, and he went out from the presence of the Lord (Genesis 4:16, KJV). Cain built a civilization independent of God. It was all ugly.

Then Adam fathered another son and named him Seth, who had a son named Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26b, NKJV), who became the sons and daughters of God. If it were not for that, the first civilization would not have lasted as long as it did.

The key phrase in Genesis chapter 5 is, and he died. It appears eight times. Thus, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a, NKJV).

The end of the first civilization is not unlike today. Before the worldwide deluge came in judgment, Enoch was raptured. Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him (Genesis 5:24, NKJV). Enoch is a picture of those who walk with God and will be taken to heaven without dying at the end of the church age (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18).

We must come to the New Testament for the good news about Adam’s fallen race. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22, NKJV). The church is the new humanity. We are made new in Christ.

God did not leave Adam and Eve without hope. Immediately after their fall, He promised a Savior (3:15). The fulfillment of that promise appeared in Bethlehem on the first Christmas when the Seed of the woman came to bruise the serpent’s heel. With the story of the fall comes the promise of the cross. The second Adam, Christ, regained everything and more than the first Adam lost in the fall.

Lesson 3:

Read Genesis Chapters 6 to 9

Genesis Chapters 6 to 9

The Flood.

The Flood was the result of the sons of God marrying the daughters of men, blending the godly line of Seth with the ungodly line of Cain.

Demon spirits did not marry women. Jesus plainly stated that angels neither marry nor are given in marriage (Matthew 22:30, NKJV), which is precisely what happened before the Flood. Angels are simple beings. They are pure spirits by nature. Humans are complex beings—body, soul, and spirit. Angels have neither biology nor DNA, which is required for procreation. It is impossible for a spirit to impregnate a woman.

There was, however, a massive invasion of demons who possessed bodies of men and women for the purpose of destroying the human race. The world was obsessed with size and beauty, so they created beauty and size by inbreeding. The result was giants (Hebrew—Nephilim). Henry Morris says,

The taking of these women most likely refers to fallen angels, or demons, possessing their bodies… By this time in history, anarchy and immorality were so widespread that these demons were easily able to take possession of the bodies of multitudes of ungodly men; these in turn engaged in promiscuous sex with demon-possessed women, with a resulting rapid population growth.

This introduction of demonic forces on earth led to universal evil. The whole human race became crazed with sex and power, which led to the Flood.

This introduces us to two apparent conflicting attributes of God: justice and mercy. If God is just, He had to judge, and He did. He destroyed an entire civilization, except for eight people. Yet, in mercy, God delivered Noah and his family to provide a godly line for the Lord Jesus Christ. If God had not judged when He did, there could have been no Savior and no salvation. The judgment was both tragic and necessary. God is both just and merciful.

We don’t know how many perished in the Flood. Henry Morris speculates, An initial population of two people, increasing at the rate of two percent annually (estimated to be the annual growth rate at present) would generate a population of well over 10 trillion people in 1,656 years (the time span from Adam to the Flood).

The judgment of the Flood is tempered by these words: But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8, NKJV). That is the first mention of grace in the Bible. Despite the evil of man, salvation history is a story of grace.

God’s judgment on planet earth was catastrophic. It not only rained for forty days, the eruptions of the deep subterranean burst open in one day, and the canopy of water over the earth’s atmosphere collapsed, leaving the world completely devasted and inundated. Everything that breathed was destroyed, except for what was in the ark. Noah and his family were saved from the convulsions of the depths below. The waters covered the highest mountains by 22.5 feet, including Mount Ararat, which is 17,000 feet high. The Flood continued for five months, and the ark didn’t land for another two and a half months. Noah didn’t leave the ark for fifty-three weeks after entering it.

There was a new hope for a new world. Noah and his family began their new lives at an altar, worshipping God with burnt offerings. The eight survivors began with new commands and a new covenant from the same God.

In Genesis chapter 9, God gave the same command to Noah that He gave to Adam. Multiply and replenish the earth (Genesis 1:28, KJV). Man would no longer be a vegetarian. He was allowed to eat meat (Genesis 9:3). Man was forbidden to eat blood since that was the source of life (see Leviticus 3:17). God forbade the taking of human life. Capital punishment was to be administered to those guilty of homicide (Genesis 9:6). God made a covenant not to destroy the world by water. The sign of His covenant is the rainbow (verses 11 to 17).

The rest of the chapter deals with Noah’s sons. Ham was the father of Canaan, whose offspring became the idolatrous enemies of Israel in the land of Canaan. Shem is the ancestor of Abraham, who is the father of the Hebrew nation. Japheth was the ancestor of what we generally call gentile nations. Japeth was to be enlarged. His descendants would multiply and move into new territories. They reached into Asia Minor and Europe.

Lesson 4:

Read Genesis Chapters 10 to 11

Genesis Chapters 10 to 11

The Tower of Babel.

1. Family lines following the Flood (chapter 10).

This chapter records what is called the Table of Nations. The seventy nations from Noah’s three sons are the progenitors of all other nations. They carried with them Flood legends that became a part of early civilizations. The Chinese were one of the first, taking a pictographic language that describes every event of the first 11 chapters of Genesis.

God’s judgment on planet earth was catastrophic. It not only rained for forty days, the eruptions of the deep subterranean burst open in one day, and the canopy of water over the earth’s atmosphere collapsed, leaving the world completely devasted and inundated. Everything that breathed was destroyed, except for what was in the ark. Noah and his family were saved from the convulsions of the depths below. The waters covered the highest mountains by 22.5 feet, including Mount Ararat, which is 17,000 feet high. The Flood continued for five months, and the ark didn’t land for another two and a half months. Noah didn’t leave the ark for fifty-three weeks after entering it. There was a new hope for a new world. Noah and his family began their new lives at an altar, worshipping God with burnt offerings. The survivors began with new commands and a new covenant from the same God.

2. Judgment on the peoples of the earth (chapter 11).

Originally all people spoke the same language. Language is the foundation of culture. A powerful and unified culture arose that became the breeding ground for rebellion against God.

A leader with great imperial power by the name of Nimrod (Hebrew—rebel) emerged and built the city of Babel (Babylon) with a tower that reached to the sky. It was all about power. It was to keep the post-Flood generation from scattering all over the world, something God did not want. Nimrod is the prototype of Antichrist, the future king of Babylon who will attempt to unite the world during the Great Tribulation. Babel originally meant Gate of God, but now means confusion. A tower was constructed as a great religious monument and dedicated to heaven. It would be used to worship and sacrifice to lesser gods of demon powers. Astrology was introduced, depicting the universal signs of the zodiac. This was probably formulated by the pre-Flood patriarchs to depict prophecies of the coming seed of the woman. Its perversion would result in the worship of the Queen of Heaven that, eventually, tantalized Israel to worship her.

God miraculously confused their languages and scattered them throughout the world. Globalism was never a part of God’s plan. The Tower of Babel is a forerunner of the future global apostasy. Globalism is a sign of universal departure from the faith.

In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve and commanded them to multiply and fill the earth. He commanded Noah to do the same. Nimrod rebelled against God’s mandate. Antichrist will do the same. Babel, the creation of Nimrod, reversed God’s order. Future Babylon, under Antichrist, will do the same. Nimrod and Antichrist offer a new world order—one government, one economy, and one religion. Only Jesus can do that in His new world order. Nimrod and Antichrist counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh… (Psalm 2:2–4a, NKJV). He laughs because creatures think they can occupy a throne that belongs to the Creator.

Lesson 5:

Read Genesis Chapters 12 to 14

The first 11 chapters of the Bible cover about 2,000 years of human history. Genesis chapter 12 to the end of the New Testament records only about 1,500 years. The first 11 chapters are global in scope; the rest of the Old Testament is the history of one people. The first 11 chapters begin with the eternal God. Genesis chapter 12 forward is a preparation for an eternal home. The eternal God now becomes the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s posterity become the earthly people of heaven’s God. The first 11 chapters are about nations. Starting with Genesis chapter 12, everything is about the Jews.

How odd of God to choose the Jews. But He did. And Abram became the first Hebrew. The Tower of Babel alerted us to the apostasy of globalism. God scattered the nations and then called Israel out of them to be a holy people. God chose Abram to be the father of those people. Through Israel, a Savior would come to seek and save the lost. From chapter 12 forward, people and nations are mentioned only as they have to do with Israel.

Genesis Chapters 12 to 14

God’s Covenant with Abraham.

When Abram was seventy-five years old, God called him out of Ur and sent him 400 miles south to a land called Canaan. Ur was a very affluent, progressive, and influential civilization. They were also pagan. Things were not the same as in the Garden of Eden. There is no more perfection. Man’s relationship with God was altered by sin. The dispensation of human government failed at Babel. Occultism and astrology ran rampant. Abram’s relatives worshipped the moon god. God’s new world was already in trouble.

God called Abram out of paganism to be the progenitor of the nation of Israel. With Abram, God made His covenant, and with Abram’s descendants, He would renew it and fulfill it. The Abrahamic covenant is the first of the theocratic covenants (pertaining to God’s rule). It is unconditional, depending solely upon God, who obligates Himself in grace. The Abrahamic covenant is the basis of all other theocratic covenants and provides for blessings in three areas:

National—I will make you a great nation (Genesis 12:2a, NKJV);

Personal—I will bless you and make your name great (Genesis 12:2b);

Universal—In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:3b, NKJV).

God chose an imperfect man to be the first Hebrew. For twenty-five years, Abram was a work in progress, yet he is called the father of us all (Romans 4:16). Abram was justified by faith, and he is used by Paul to illustrate that doctrine. Justification is a legal term that describes our standing as believers before God. It means we are declared righteous.

Righteous Abraham struggled with faith. When there was a famine in the land, he went down to Egypt, where he lied to Pharaoh, saying Sarai was his sister, not his wife (verses 10 to 20). She was a beautiful woman. Pharaoh took her to his house, where he intended to make her part of his harem. After the Lord plagued Pharaoh, he found out that Sarai was Abraham’s wife. After rebuking him, he sent Abram and Sarai out of the country. Though Abraham was justified by faith, he was very imperfect (Romans 4:3).

Abraham demonstrates how the Christian life is a matter of continually becoming what God has already declared us to be. In Genesis chapter 13, Abram demonstrated his faith when forced to part with his nephew Lot over a land dispute. His magnanimous character is seen in his settling for what was left after allowing Lot to choose the well-watered plain of Jordan. Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom. That tells a lot about Lot.

Chapter 14 tells us a lot about Abram. After Lot was captured, Abram rescued Him. That occasioned a meeting with Melchizedek, King of Salem and Priest of God Most High. The chapter ends with Abram refusing money from Sodom’s king and giving 10 percent to God. That also was a test of faith.

Lesson 6:

Read Genesis Chapters 15 to 17

Genesis Chapters 15 to 16

Confirmation of the Covenant.

1. God’s promise of an heir (chapter 15).

People of faith are often beset by fear. Abram had left everything behind and moved to Canaan.

He had done all he knew to do, and after fifteen years, he was still waiting for God to fulfill His promises. God promised Abram a land. He was still moving from place to place and living in a tent. He promised to make a nation through him; for starters, that required a son. Abram was approaching ninety. Sarai was approaching eighty, and her biological clock was winding down. How could the families of the earth be blessed through Abraham when Sarai couldn’t even get pregnant? If Abraham was like you and me, and he was, he was probably thinking he misunderstood or he needed to help God make it happen.

By studying Abraham’s life, we learn that faith doesn’t follow a straight line. That is a principle. Israel could have gotten to Canaan in eleven days, and it ended up taking forty years. It’s what goes on in the waiting that prepares us to receive the promise. Abraham was a man of principles, and he was beginning to question them. He rescued his nephew Lot because it was the right thing to do. He refused to take money from the king of Sodom because it was the wrong thing to do. He tithed to Melchizedek because it was the least he should do.

God, knowing Abram’s discouragement, came to him with a word of encouragement: Do not be afraid. Abram was beginning to doubt, and doubt was turning into fear. God continued: I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward (Genesis 15:1, NKJV). In other words, God would protect him and recompense him.

Abram’s response was to suggest his servant, Eliezer, father the child. In that culture, he was a legal heir.

I don’t know what Sari thought about that, but it wasn’t God’s plan. God solidified Abraham’s faith by showing him the stars. Like them, Abram’s descendants would be innumerable. God desired a covenant with Abram.

Abram cut the sacrificial animals in two and placed the parts opposite each other, and God walked between them. Vultures attempted to steal the sacrifice off the altar, but Abram drove them away. When we are not willing to protect our sacrifices, we can lose our reward. Jesus said, Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown (Revelation 3:11b, NKJV).

God was moving Abram to a place of brokenness. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, […] and a contrite heart (Psalm 51:17a, NKJV). After revealing Israel’s future sojourn in Egypt, God made a covenant: […] To your descendants I have given this land… (Genesis 15:18, NKJV) Note two things: 1. The promise was in the past tense. It was already a reality in the mind of God. 2. If Abram was to have descendants, he would of necessity have a son. The covenant was an eternal decision sealed in time.

2. Abram’s disastrous solution (chapter 16).

Abram made a tragic mistake. He listened to his wife instead of God, The Lord had said to Abram… (Genesis 12:1, NKJV) […] the word of the Lord came to Abram… (Genesis 15:1, NKJV). […] Abram heeded the voice of Sarai (16:2b, NKJV).

The decision to allow Hagar to conceive Abram’s child was bad for everyone. Abram, Sari, Hagar, and Ishmael suffered. Israel and the Arab nations suffered. Four thousand years later, the world is suffering because of the Arab-Israeli conflict, a result of one man listening to his wife instead of God.

In the meantime, Abram was eighty-six years old and waiting for the son of promise.

Genesis Chapter 17

Sign of the Covenant.

Thirteen years later, God appeared to Abram again. Abram was approaching one hundred, and Sarai was pushing ninety. It would now require a miracle for her to have a child. Circumcision was given as a sign of the everlasting covenant. At this time, God changed Abram’s name (high father) to Abraham (father of a multitude), and God changed Sarai’s name to Sarah (princess). He named their promised son Isaac, which means laughter. God promised Ishmael an inheritance, and they lived happily ever after (just kidding).

Remember, the line of faith is not a straight line. In twenty-five years, Abram went from hope to doubt, to disillusionment, to acceptance of the perfect will of God. Faith doesn’t follow a straight line, but it keeps us straight and always leads to the promise.

Lesson 7:

Read Genesis Chapters 18 to 20

Genesis 18:1–15

Sarah’s Unbelief.

Three men showed up at Abraham and Sarah’s tent. Two were angels, and the third was the Lord Jesus Christ appearing as a theophany.

A theophany is an appearance of Jesus before the incarnation. One of Jesus’ titles is the Word. He was in the beginning with God, and He was God (John 1:1). He had spoken before to Abraham (12:1; 15:1) and would now speak again. Jesus is God’s living Word. The Bible is Christ’s written word. The Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament is usually an appearance of Jesus before His birth.

The second person of the Trinity came to tell Abraham that Sarah would have a son within a year. Both Abraham and Sarah were past the age of childbearing. Abraham was ninety-nine, and Sarah was ten years younger. The promise was so utterly impossible from the human standpoint that Sarah laughed in disbelief. Abraham laughed out of gratitude. Sarah’s was a laugh of doubt. Abraham’s laugh was of faith. Abraham’s faith was sure. Faith had turned to knowing. He didn’t question. He celebrated.

Paul said, He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God (Romans 4:20, NKJV).

Till then, Abraham had a history of staggering. He lied, made excuses, complained, and hesitated. God broke him of it. Faith had become reality for Abraham. He didn’t just believe; he knew. To have a son at his age would require a miracle. All the better! Is there anything too hard for Me [the Lord]? (Jeremiah 32:27, NKJV)

Genesis 18:16–33

God’s Plan to Destroy Sodom.

In this section, Abraham is seen as a great intercessor. The wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah had reached a point of no return, and God informed Abraham. Abraham’s nephew lived there. Lot sat at the gate. He was a city official in a cesspool of a place where a believer had no business.

Abraham approached God with two reminders. First, Would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked? (Genesis 18:23b, NKJV) The obvious answer is no. A just God would not, and could not, judge the righteous and the wicked together. Second, Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Genesis 18:25b, NKJV) A righteous God can only do right. Abraham pleaded with God to spare the city for fifty righteous people and worked his way down to ten.

This is a remarkable passage on intercessory prayer. Abraham began with an appeal to God’s righteous character and His lovingkindness. Abraham knew how to pray because he knew God. Prayer requires a knowledge of who God is.

Genesis Chapter 19

The Destruction of Sodom.

Lot was a public official in this wicked city doomed to destruction. The depth of Sodom’s depravity is seen in their moral perversion. Lot was a believer with a powerless testimony. Second Peter 2:7 (NKJV) says God delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked.

It began when he pitched his tent toward Sodom. That was costly. Two of his daughters and their husbands perished in the conflagration. His wife turned into a pillar of salt when she lingered. Lot ended up committing incest with his two unmarried daughters. The consequences of the tryst were the Ammonites and the Moabites, who became Israel’s perpetual enemies.

Genesis Chapter 20

Abraham Is Tested Again.

Abraham lies a second time about Sarah not being his wife, this time to Abimelech, king of the Philistines. When discovered, he offered three excuses:

He thought (wrongly) that the fear of God was not in Gerar, and they would murder him to get Sarah.

He told a half-truth that Sarah was his sister. She was his, in fact, half sister.

He had agreed with his wife to say she was his sister.

God told Abimelech, a heathen king, that Abraham would pray for him. And he did. In the eyes of God, a saint at his worst is better than a sinner at his best.

Lesson 8:

Read Genesis Chapters 21 to 23

Genesis 21:1–24

The Birth of Isaac.

With Isaac, the second generation of the promise officially began. Isaac was the child of promise. He was the covenant child. Abraham could now know that God’s promise would be fulfilled through Isaac. His name means laughter, which typifies the joy he would bring not only to his parents but to all who would be blessed by the Savior to come.

Isaac is a type of Christ in a fourfold sense:

As the Son obedient to death (Genesis 22:10; Philippians 2:5–8).

As the Bridegroom of a called-out Bride (Genesis chapter 24).

Of the believer’s new nature as born of the Spirit (Galatians 4:29).

Of the church as the spiritual posterity of Abraham (Galatians 4:28).

But what about Ishmael, Abraham’s son through Hagar? Ishmael is a type of the old nature. He is the child of the flesh. Isaac’s birth did not improve Ishmael; it brought out opposition to the spiritual seed. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6, NKJV). When we are born of the Spirit, our flesh rises up in rebellion. Our flesh is at enmity with God. The Apostle Paul is clear on this.

For it is written [in Genesis chapter 21] that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants…

—Galatians 4:22–24a (NKJV)

Hagar and Ishmael were sent away. Ishmael would be given descendants and a land, but he would not be the line of Israel’s Messiah or heir to the Promised Land. Ishmael would beget twelve princes (25:12–18), but he was still the son of a bondwoman, and nothing could change that. His descendants would ultimately occupy more land than the people of Israel, but not they were not given the land of Canaan. That was for Isaac’s descendants. God fulfilled His promise concerning Ishmael: I will make him a great nation (Genesis 21:18, NKJV).

In Genesis 21:22–34, Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, to secure Beersheba, the place where Abraham camped when he ordered Hagar to take Ishmael and leave. It was at Beersheba that Abraham called on the Everlasting God. This is the first time Jehovah El Olam is used for God, meaning Jehovah is the eternal God.

Although Abraham made a covenant with a temporal king, he was still under the covenant of an eternal king.

Genesis Chapter 22

Offering Isaac.

This is one of the most dramatic scenes in the Bible. The birth of Isaac was an exciting moment for Abraham, but God tested his faith. Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering… (Genesis 22:2, NKJV)

There is a historical reality here, and it is a spiritual picture. Abraham is a type of our Heavenly Father sacrificing His only begotten Son (John 3:16). Isaac is a type of God’s obedient Son obedient to death. Isaac carried the wood for the altar like Christ carried His cross and surrendered Himself to be offered on it.

In verse 22, the word love occurs for the first time in the Bible, referring to the love of a father for his son. The first use of love in each of the three Synoptic Gospels (Mathew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22, NKJV) shows the Father saying, This is My beloved Son. In the Gospel of John, love appears more than in any other book of the Bible, and its first occurrence is in John 3:16a (NKJV)—For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son… The offering of Isaac, probably in his thirties, is a type of God giving His Son to be sacrificed for us.

Genesis Chapter 23

The Death of Sarah.

She is the only woman in the Bible whose age at death is mentioned. She was 127 years old. Isaac was thirty-seven when she died.

As Abraham is called the father of all believers, so Sarah is considered the mother of all believing women (1 Peter 3:5–6), and she died in faith (Hebrews 11:13). She was buried in the field of Machpelah. Later Abraham would be buried there too.

Lesson 9:

Read Genesis Chapter 24

Genesis Chapter 24

Finding a Bride for Isaac.

Eliezer was Abraham’s chief household servant, a position of substantial authority. According to Mesopotamian custom, Eliezer would have been the legal heir of Abraham’s inheritance if Isaac had not been born. Not only did Eliezer continue to serve Abraham loyally after Isaac’s birth, but he also gave him his loyalty (Genesis 15:2–4) and called him his master (Genesis 24:65).

When Abraham wanted a bride for Isaac, he sent Eliezer to Mesopotamia in search for one. Abraham would not accept a bride from the daughters of the Canaanites, so he commissioned his servant to return go to his family in Mesopotamian and find one. It was vital for Isaac to have a wife so God’s promises of a people and a land could be realized. In a manner that seems odd to us, Eliezer put his hand under Abraham’s thigh, and swore that he would do it. This was an ancient Near Eastern custom by which an intimate touch affirmed an oath (cf. 47:29). It was similar to a hand shake, but it was more personal.

This chapter reveals three things about Abraham’s loyal servant. Those who want to serve God would do well to notice them: His purpose, his priority, and his prayer. His purpose was to obey his master. His priority was to put his master first. His prayer was to seek God’s guidance. Eliezer is the greatest example of a servant in the Bible. He sought nothing for himself, despite the fact Isaac had displaced him as Abraham’s heir.

Eliezer’s prayer (verses 12 to 14) is the key to his success, and it is the centerpiece of the story. God answered his prayer in four ways:

He led him to the right place. God led him to the city of Abraham’s brother Nahor (22:20) and then to a well where women would come to draw water.

He led him to the right person. Rebecca was that person. She was God’s choice. She was willing to go, but it was up to her brother and father to make the final decision. When something is God’s will, there will be agreement between what God wants and what authority permits.

He led him to the right possibility. Many women arrived at the well. They were all possibilities, but only one was God’s will. When faced with more than one possibility, we must ask God to reveal His will. Rebecca stood out as God’s choice.

His prayer was based on the right promise: He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there (Genesis 24:7b, NKJV).

Prayer is effective only when we place ourselves in the way so God can lead us. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me… (Genesis 24:27b, NKJV) Eliezer discovered God’s will, and the Lord confirmed it. The Lord […] led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son (Genesis 24:48, NKJV). Laban and Rebecca’s father both agreed: […] The thing comes from the Lord… (Genesis 24:50, NKJV) God’s will is described as the way of truth. He reveals His truth to those who walk in His way.

Eliezer’s job wasn’t finished until he returned home with a bride. God’s choice was confirmed in Isaac’s choice. […] she became his wife, and he loved her… (Genesis 24:67, NKJV) It was a marriage made in heaven, and it was made possible by a servant on earth.

Lesson 10:

Read Genesis Chapters 25 to 26

Genesis 25:1–18

Death of Abraham.

The first generation of promise comes to an end with the death of Abraham. He lived 175 years, and Sarah lived to 127. After Sarah’s death, Abraham married Keturah and lived for another thirty-eight years. During that time, he fathered six children, of whom came the Midianites.

Abraham, with all his faults, was one of the greatest men in the Bible. When we think of faith, we think of Abraham. The Apostle Paul uses Abraham as an example of faith. Just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Therefore, know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham (Galatians 3:6–7, NKJV).

Genesis 25:12–18 provides an account of Ishmael, Abraham’s son by Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant. The Ishmaelites settled in Arabia and became known as Arabians. Abraham is the father of the Arab world. The rivalry between Isaac and Ishmael still exists in the antagonism between Jews and Arabs.

Genesis 25:19–34

Isaac’s Family Life.

This begins the history of Isaac and Rebekah. The most remembered event is the birth of Esau and Jacob, twins who stormed out of the womb fighting. Esau was born with Jacob grabbing his heal. The name Jacob means heal-grabber or supplanter. Their birth foreshadowed the struggle between two nations.

Esau and Jacob were the progenitors of the Edomites and the Israelites. God reversed the law of the firstborn by choosing Jacob as the heir of the Abrahamic covenant. God chose Jacob to be in the messianic line and told Rebecca, […] The older shall serve the younger (Genesis 25:23c, NKJV).

Esau never demonstrated an inkling of spirituality. In Hebrews 12:6, he is called a fornicator and a profane person. His descendants, the Edomites, were a godless people. It was in reference to their rejection of God and their cruelty to Israel that God said, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated (Romans 9:13; Malachi 1:3, KJV).

Jacob tricked his brother into trading his birthright for a piece of bread and a bowl of lentils. The birthright gave him precedence over his brothers and assured a double portion of his father’s inheritance.

Jacob, with all his inconsistencies, was a man of faith. Faith was the major challenge in Jacob’s life.

In the line of the covenant promise, all Abraham’s sons were eliminated except Isaac. Of Isaac’s sons, Esau was eliminated, and Jacob was chosen. With Jacob, the process of elimination stopped, and his descendants became the children of Israel.

Genesis 26:1–33

Isaac’s Lapse of Faith.

This section opens with Isaac repeating a sin of his father. When a famine arose, Isaac went to Gerar in Philistine country. The Lord appeared to him and told him to live there and not go to Egypt. It was at Gerar that God reaffirmed the covenant He had given to his father, Abraham.

When asked about his wife, like Abraham, he answered out of fear, She is my sister. When confronted by Abimelech, he confessed his lie, accepted a rebuke, and continued to live in Gerar. Within a year, God blessed him, and he prospered.

Isaac had to learn that fear must yield to faith. Faith is the great overcomer. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith (1 John 5:4, NKJV). Isaac’s sojourn in Gerar was a continuous struggle with the Philistines.

After contending over wells and land, God appeared to Isaac in Beersheba, confirming the Abrahamic covenant and calling for an altar to worship the Lord. Abimelech, fearing reprisals, sought a peace treaty with Isaac and got it.

The chapter ends on an ominous note. Esau marries two pagan wives, ignoring the standard set by Abraham for Isaac. This caused grief to Isaac and Rebecca.

Genesis 26:34–35

Esau’s Rebellion.

Against his parents’ will, Esau married two Hittite women. His wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebecca.

Lesson 11:

Read Genesis Chapters 27 to 30

Genesis 27:1 to 28:9

Jacob Steals Esau’s Blessing.

Jacob had already manipulated Esau for the birthright. Now he proceeds to go after the blessing. This would be accomplished by collusion with his mother. God said during Rebekah’s pregnancy that the older should serve the younger (25:23). Isaac and Rebekah knew Jacob was God’s choice, but Rebekah took the matter into her own hands.

Rachel loved Jacob, and Isaac loved Esau (25:28). Isaac was overlooking God’s will, and Rebekah wanted to help God out. Her decision can be compared to Sarah’s desire for Hagar to have Abraham’s baby. Whenever we get ahead of God, we create problems that just keep going. Rebekah’s conspiracy against her husband was a lack of faith in God’s ability to fulfill what He had promised. She would never see Jacob again. Both Jacob and Rebekah were right when he said, […] I shall bring a curse on myself (Genesis 27:12b, NKJV), and she answered, […] Let your curse be on me… (Genesis 27:13, NKJV)

It would be twenty years before Jacob returned to Canaan. It took that long for Esau to get over his bitterness.

Jacob and Esau eventually made up, but their descendants to this day have not. Pursue peace […] looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled (Hebrews 12:14–15, NKJV). Once bitterness takes root, it corrupts all relationships. The conflict between Israelites and Edomites was a result of Rebekah’s willfulness and Esau’s bitterness.

None of this would have happened had Rebekah waited. Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive (Sir Walter Scott).

Genesis 28:10 to 31:55

Jacob Flees to Haran.

Despite the deceit, God validated the transfer of the birthright from Esau to Jacob. It was His eternal will, and He would have accomplished it without Rebekah’s help.

Jacob has a long way to Haran. He also has a long way to go to become a man of faith. On the way, Jacob dreams of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending. The Lord stood above it and reaffirmed the blessing of the land and descendants. Jesus was the ladder (John 1:51) and the only Mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5). Jacob promised to give God 10 percent if God would bless him.

Jacob, now seventy-seven, would live another seventy years. There was plenty of time for God to work His plan if he and Rebekah had waited.

Genesis Chapters 29 to 30

Jacob Reaps What He Sows.

This chapter begins Jacob’s sojourn in Haran. It was 400 miles northeast of Canaan. Jacob will spend twenty years there. It is here that God will break Jacob. It doesn’t take long to begin.

Jacob, the deceiver, meets his match in Laban. If we learn anything in this chapter, it is that God knows where to send us and who to put in our paths to shape us. Enter Rachel, Laban’s beautiful daughter. Jacob wants her, bargains for her, works for seven years for her, and through Laban’s deception, ends up with Leah, her unattractive sister. Leah, being veiled from head to foot during the wedding, was not recognized until the morning after. He then had to work another seven years for Rachel. Round one goes to Laban.

Leah then bears four sons for Jacob, causing Rachel to be jealous. Both of Jacob’s wives had handmaids who became Jacob’s concubines. Of these, twelve sons are born. This was the accepted custom, though it seems strange and inappropriate to us.

Here is what happened: A wife whom he did not want was forced on him by deceit, just as he had gotten his father’s blessing by deceit. The lesson: […] whatever a man sows, that he will also reap (Galatians 6:7b, NKJV).

Jacob, wanting to leave Haran, is dissuaded by Laban. Jacob asks for the spotted and brown animals from the flocks as his wages. Through Jacob’s clever breeding techniques, his herds enlarge, and […] the man [Jacob] became exceedingly prosperous (Genesis 30:43a, NKJV). Round two goes to Jacob.

Lesson 12:

Read Genesis Chapters 31 to 35

Genesis Chapter 31

Jacob’s Escape.

The theme of the next three chapters is Jacob’s return to Canaan. Having appeared to Jacob in a dream, God instructs him to leave Haran. When his uncle tries to pursue him, God warns Laban not to stop him.

After twenty years, Jacob and Laban are both rich. The Lord told Jacob to return to Canaan, and Jacob left secretly for fear of Laban’s reprisals. Missing household idols his daughters had taken, Laban shook Jacob down, thinking he had taken them. He backed off and then gave permission for Jacob to take his family and leave. The two made a covenant and departed ways.

Genesis Chapters 32 to 33

Jacob’s Return to Canaan.

Angels welcomed Jacob on his return as they did when he left. He was entering his inheritance in the Promised Land. God hadn’t forgotten His promise. And Jacob hadn’t forgotten that Esau had vowed to kill him (27:41), so he prayed for God’s protection. Having sent a peace party ahead to Esau with many gifts, he remained alone.

God came to Jacob that night in the form of a man. He knew it was God because he named the place Peniel, […] For I have seen God face to face… (Genesis 32:30, NKJV) They wrestled until dawn. When Jacob wouldn’t let Him go, God touched his hip, crippling him for life. He also changed Jacob’s name. No longer would he be called Jacob (supplanter) but Israel (prince of God). Jacob left Peniel with a new name and a new walk. Both are symbols of a change in character.

After Jacob’s encounter with God, he saw Esau coming with his men. He soon realized that Esau had come in peace. Their meeting resulted in reconciliation. They parted company in peace, and Jacob returned to Canaan. If Jacob and his mother had waited on God twenty years before, the fearful confrontation would not have been necessary.

The story of Esau and Jacob reminds us to wait on God’s will. What Jacob was doing wasn’t as important as how God was moving. God would have moved to accomplish His will for Jacob to receive the blessing, and Jacob took it out of His hands. Now Jacob returns as a tribal prince to face the brother he ran from two decades earlier. God brought him full circle to face what he ran from in the first place.

Genesis Chapter 34

Jacob’s Life in Canaan.

This chapter appears to be written only for the purpose of showing how Jacob got to Bethel. It is a grisly story of rape and murder that does not advance the story. It simply shows the ugliness of sin as God is moving Jacob forward.

On Jacob’s return, he stopped at Shechem, intending to stay there. He bought a parcel of ground and erected an altar to God. Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, was raped by a local Canaanite prince, and Jacob’s sons took revenge by killing every man from the city, despite the fact that the man wanted to marry her. They seized everything they could and took the wives and children as captives.

The rape was terrible, but the retaliation was worse. That forced Jacob to move his family to Bethel, where once again, he built an altar. God appeared to Jacob as El-Shaddai (God Almighty) and reconfirmed the Abrahamic covenant with him.

In chapter 35, Rachel and Isaac die. God renews His covenant at Bethel. Bethel is where Jacob saw the ladder extending from heaven to earth. It was there that God made him heir to the Abrahamic promises. Now God reassures him that those promises will be fulfilled. Jacob set up a stone pillar in recognition of the place where God had talked to him.

Later, Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. Jacob buried her on the way to Bethlehem.

Jacob moved on to Hebron, the home of Abraham and Isaac. Sometime after Jacob’s arrival, Isaac died at 180. Esau and Jacob buried their father in the family tomb.

Everything Jacob worried about never happened. If we could only learn from that. Jacob was a free man. From here on, he will be blessed.

Lesson 13:

Read Genesis Chapters 36 to 40

Genesis Chapter 36

The Family of Esau.

This chapter contains a brief account of the origin of the Edomites. Esau dwelt in the land of Edom, southeast of the Dead Sea. The genealogy represents the fulfillment of God’s promise that Esau would be the head of a nation (25:23).

As seven generations of the ungodly line of Cain were given in Genesis chapter 4, so seven generations of kings in the ungodly line of Esau are mentioned in verses 33 to 39. Not one of them was faithful to God. From the nineteenth to the thirteenth centuries bc, they settled in Mount Seir, a mountainous region south of the Dead Sea, in an area called Sela (Petra). Herod the Great was an Edomite. The Amalekites also descended from Esau. They were a nomadic tribe, the first to attack Israel upon their departure from Egypt and oppressors of Israel during the time of the judges.

Genesis Chapter 37

How Joseph Gets to Egypt.

The rest of Genesis is about Joseph. Jacob has a son named Joseph, half brother to Jacob’s other sons. Being a son of his favorite wife, Rachel, he was the favored sibling. Jacob had given him a special coat showing he was Jacob’s choice to be the future leader of the family, an honor normally given to the firstborn.

Joseph has a series of dreams that insult his brothers and annoy his father. The prophetic dreams reveal the whole family bowing down to him.

One day Jacob sends Joseph to find his brothers. They abduct him and intend to kill him, but Reuben persuades them to put him in a pit. He is then sold to a band of Ishmaelites for the twenty pieces of silver, where he is taken to Egypt and sold as a slave.

The brothers take Joseph’s coat, tear it, dip it in blood, and tell Jacob that Joseph was killed by a wild animal.

Genesis Chapter 38

Judah’s Sin.

Why is this chapter here? The account of Judah’s sin with Tamar is an illustration of God’s grace. The Lord Jesus descended from Judah (Luke 3:33). Tamar is one of five women mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy. Three were guilty of immorality—Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba. Ruth was a gentile, and the virgin Mary was the other one. This story is about character. Judah, presented with an opportunity to sin, takes it. In the next chapter, Joseph is tempted to sin and refuses. Judah falls to temptation. Joseph rises above it.