Download Lesson 1 - St Paul Appleton

Explanation of Part 1: Old Testament Study
The first section of this course is designed to take students deeper into God’s Word in
the Old Testament. The intention is to do this by re-introducing the students to some of
the best-known figures in the Old Testament, while using stories from their lives that the
students may not be as familiar with. It also brings students into contact with the
prophets – even the minor ones, whom they (and most Christians) probably know very
little about. Also, students will be led into key periods of history in the Old Testament,
including the time of the Judges and the Babylonian Captivity.
The goal is for students to learn more about the people, promises, and history of the Old
Testament and being able to put them into historical context with the help of a timeline.
The other goal in this Old Testament Study (and in the New Testament Study) is to lead
students to study God’s Word and apply it to their lives. The student will be expected to
read the sections of the Bible and answer the questions for the lesson.
When there is a large chronological gap between lessons, the gap is filled in by a
section called, “The Bridge to the Next Story.”
Lesson 1: Abraham: A Man to Whom God
made Great Promises
Abraham’s Time: Abraham lived from about 2166BC to about 1991BC. Add him
on your timeline.
What Do You Know About Abraham? As a review of Abraham’s life,
try to remember as many facts about Abraham and as many stories from his life as you
can. List them in the space below. If you need help remembering, use Genesis 11:27 –
25:11 to refresh your memory.
Bible Study: Learn More About Abraham and the LORD
Now, read Genesis 15. You may be familiar with the story in the first part of this chapter,
but probably not the one in the second part of the chapter. Let’s see what else we can
learn about Abraham and the Lord from this chapter!
1.
What promise had God previously made to Abraham? (See Genesis 12:2-3 if you
cannot remember).
2. Why was Abraham starting to doubt these promises (see verses 2 and 3)?
3. What does God say to comfort Abraham and reassure him of his promises (see
verses 1, 4, and 5)?
4. Genesis 15:6 is one of the most important passages in the entire Old Testament.
What does it teach us about how a person is justified (“declared righteous”) in God’s
eyes?
5. Read Romans 4:1-5. Why did Abraham have nothing to boast about?
6. How does Paul define faith in verse 5?
7. Back to Genesis 15. What do we learn from verses 1 to 6 about trusting God’s
promises, even when what we see tells us that he is not keeping them?
8. Do you ever doubt God’s promises? If so, which ones? How can this story help you to
trust them, rather than doubt them?
Beginning at verse 8, Abraham asks God for a sign that the land of Israel will belong to
his descendants. To give this sign God orders Abraham to cut in half a cow, goat, ram,
dove and pigeon. This was a common thing to do in Abraham’s world when two sides
wanted to promise each other that they would keep their end of a deal. They cut
animals in half and walked between those dead animals as if to say, “If I break my end
of the deal, may I be destroyed just like these animals are.” Walking through the dead
animals was a dramatic way of saying, “I will keep my end of the deal! I promise!”
God, however, does not walk through the dead animals together with Abraham. Instead,
he waits for Abraham to fall asleep, and then God passes through the animals ALONE,
appearing as a smoking pot and a blazing torch.
9. Why do you think the Lord waited for Abraham to fall asleep so he could pass through
the dead animals ALONE?
10. Most of the promises God makes are one-sided. They depend only on God, and we
don’t have to do anything. The promise of salvation that God makes to us in Christ
Jesus is also a one-sided promise. What comfort is there in that truth?
11. Finally, in verses 13 to 20, God gives Abraham a preview of what will happen to his
descendants, Israel. What details from Israel’s history can you gather from these
verses?