—Genesis Chapter 12!DFO 278111/90

—Bible Classtime with Grandpa!

(After prayer for the class:)

1. Tonight we're studying Genesis Chapter 12! Go ahead & read the first five verses‚ okay? (Techi reads: "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, & from thy kindred‚ & from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, & I will bless thee, & make thy name great; & thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee‚ & curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the Earth be blessed. So Abram departed‚ as the Lord had spoken unto him; & Lot went with him: & Abram was seventy & five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife‚ & Lot his brother's son, & all their substance that they had gathered, & the souls that they had gotten in Haran; & they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; & into the land of Canaan they came.")

2. This is after Abraham's father died. His father Terah apparently didn't complete the journey that he set out to do, but Abraham was to continue it. I know it calls him Abram here, but shall we call him Abraham since that's what he finally was called? (Kids: Yes!) The Lord promised that He would make of him a great nation, "and bless thee & make thy name great, & thou shalt be a blessing." How was he a blessing mostly? (Techi: By his children?) Yes, but what particular child of the line of Abraham? (David: Jesus!) Yes! Jesus became a blessing to the whole World!

3. It says in verse 4 that Abraham was 75 years old when he departed from Haran, & that's something you'll probably want to remember for your test. "And he took Sarai his wife, & Lot his brother's son, & all their substance they had gathered, & the souls that they had gotten in Haran." Abraham was a soul-winner! He probably had a lot of friends & servants to help him to do his job, just like we have. "And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan." And the difference between him & his father is that "into the land of Canaan they came!"

4. (Verse 6:) "And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem (Shechem), unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land." Who were the Canaanites? (Techi: The Blacks.) And they were descendants of whom? (Techi: Ham.) Yes, Ham & Canaan.

5. (Verse 7:) "And the Lord appeared unto Abram, & said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: & there builded he an altar unto the Lord, Who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, & pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, & Hai on the east: & there he builded an altar unto the Lord"—another altar—"& called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed‚ going on still toward the south."

6. That was kind of a dangerous journey, don't you think?—Through an all–Black neighbourhood! I've sometimes had nightmares about being caught out at night in a dangerous Black neighbourhood.

7. Let's see if we can find Bethel on the map. Well, I can't seem to find it. I'm sorry I'm so limited on maps here, we've got to get a good big Bible map! We used to have some good maps of all that area, maps of Iraq & the Mideast, but I eliminated them from my luggage a long time ago.—Because if I was travelling & they inspected my luggage & found maps of Egypt & Iraq etc., it might have looked kind of suspicious! (Techi: Were they in your Bible?) No, they were great big fold-out maps. (Techi: Of Egypt & Iraq?) Of Iraq & Iran, principally, because I was following the war at that time.

Abraham's Sojourn in Egypt!

8. (Verse 10:) "And there was a famine in the land: & Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land."—What land? (Kids: Canaan.) Right! So he went down to Egypt. (Techi: Which is almost next door.) Well, Egypt is part of Africa. Canaan, which is now Israel, was North of Egypt across the Red Sea.

9. (Verse 11:) "And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee‚ that they shall say, This is his wife: & they will kill me, but they will save thee alive."—In other words, they would kill him to get her! So he said to Sarah, "Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; & my soul shall live because of thee."

10. Now, was he really lying? And would Sarah be lying? (Techi: No, because she was his half-sister.) Right! (Techi: How is she his half–sister?) Well, later on in Genesis 20:12 Abraham is saying to King Abimelech, "And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; & she became my wife."—In other words, Abraham & Sarah had the same father, but different mothers.

11. (Verse 14:) "And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair." (Techi: She must have been really fair!) Yes, she was probably outstanding. "The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, & commended her before Pharaoh: & the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house." (Techi: They commended her?) That means they praised her to Pharaoh. They said, "This guy's sister is very beautiful!" They recommended her. Because especially kings in those days married a lot of women‚ so she was taken into Pharaoh's house.

12. (Verse 16:) "And he entreated Abram well for her sake: & he had sheep, & oxen‚ & he asses, & menservants, & maidservants, & she asses, & camels." He was stocking up now with provisions for the future! "And the Lord plagued Pharaoh & his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife." She hadn't actually married Pharaoh yet‚ but he was getting ready to marry her, no doubt, so the Lord wanted to stop that.

13. (Verse 18:) "And Pharaoh called Abram" —he picked up the phone (ha!)—& said, Hey, Abraham! "What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?" (Techi: How did he know? Did the Lord tell him?) Well, obviously he got the point from the plagues! (Techi: He must have been a pretty smart guy!) "Why saidst thou, She is my sister? So I might have taken her to me to wife! Now therefore behold thy wife, take her, & go thy way!"—In other words, "Get out! You're causing me a lot of trouble!"

14. (Verse 20:) "And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: & they sent him away‚ & his wife, & all that he had." Well, that was nice. Pharaoh let Abraham take his wife & all of his flocks & herds & everything. He was fairly kind to him. He could have killed him! (David: At least he could have taken all of his presents away.) Yes!

15. And that's the end of the Chapter! We're finished early! Would you like to take a test on this right now? (David: I guess we could!) (Techi: Sure!) Why not?—While it's fresh in your mind! OK? (Techi: You're a very sweet teacher!)

Genesis 12 Test!

16. All right! Put the heading on your paper: "Genesis 12 Test," & your name & date.

17. No. 1: Terah had started out to go to the land of Canaan, but he died in Haran, so therefore whom did the Lord choose to continue the journey?

18. Nos. 2 & 3: Give me at least two things the Lord promised Abraham. There are actually about three or four things. He said, "I will make of thee a"—something. "And I will bless thee & make thy name"—what? "And thou shalt be a"—what? There are three things, you can pick any two of them.

19. No. 4: He said also that "in thee shall all families of the Earth be blessed." How are we still blessed to this very day, all families of the Earth, through Abraham?—Through Whom?

20. Nos. 5 & 6: And when they left Haran, which of his relatives did he take with him?—Two principal relatives. (Techi: Does it say that there?) Yes, it names them! (David: So is that two questions?) Yes, two questions‚ two answers.

21. No. 7: Plus he took all the what that he apparently had won? He was a _____ winner!

22. No. 8: And what land did he arrive in?

23. No. 9: And who lived there?

24. No. 10: What did the Lord say He was going to do with this land?—Give it to whom?

25. No. 11: So in thanksgiving to the Lord, what did Abraham build?

26. No. 12: Near what town? It says, "And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of"—what town? It's a very famous word‚ it comes out in the Bible all the time.

27. No. 13: What direction did he keep going?

28. No. 14: But what was wrong with the country? They were having a what in the land?

29. No. 15: So they kept on going down into what country?

30. No. 16: And his wife Sarah being very beautiful, Abraham was afraid they'd kill him & grab her to take to wife, which probably would have happened. So what did he tell Sarah to tell the Egyptians? What relation did he tell her to say she was to him, that she was his—what? Not his wife, but something else.

31. No. 17: And sure enough, the Egyptians saw that she was—what?

32. No. 18: And the princes of Pharaoh recommended her to Pharaoh, so she went to live in whose house?

33. Nos. 19-21: In those days people almost bought wives. They gave large dowries to the bride's father or whoever was in charge of the woman, as gifts. So name at least three of the various kinds of animals that Pharaoh gave to Abraham.

34. No. 22: But because Pharaoh was about to make Sarah his wife when she still had a living husband, what did the Lord send upon Pharaoh's house.—Great what's?—To warn him not to take Abraham's wife.

35. No. 23: So then when these great things began to fall on Pharaoh's house, he called Abram and said, "What is this thou hast done to me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister?" And what did Pharaoh command his men to do? What did they do to Abraham and his wife?

36. No. 24: I think it was very kind of Pharaoh to let him have Sarah, & what else? (Techi: A general group, right?) Yes. Hmmmm! I'll have to think of one more question.

37. No. 25: Besides the three animals that you already named of the things that Pharaoh gave Abraham, name one more gift.

38. OK! Let me know when you're done & exchange papers! (Techi: I have a few questions. What was question 3? (David: Two things the Lord promised Abraham.) There are several things that God promised to Abraham. (Techi: I know one, & the other I guessed. And what was question 12?) (David: That was the name of a town.) It sounds a lot like the town where Jesus was born. You know that so well! My goodness, you shouldn't get stuck on that one! I could give you another hint: Jacob came there later & pillowed his head on a stone! (See Gen.28.) No wonder he had a dream! And he saw Angels going back & forth to Heaven on a step ladder or on stairs or something. And he is the one who really named the place originally‚ & the name meant "House of God." (Techi: Interesting!) Yes, very interesting things took place there. It's a very famous place in the Bible.

39. All right! Are we ready to correct papers? (Techi: What was question 13?) (David: That was which direction did he keep going?) If you know anything about Canaan & Egypt‚ what direction was Egypt from Canaan, from Israel? (Techi: Oh! I know which direction, now I have to figure out what it's called.) What's what called? (Techi: What's the name of the direction, ha!) Oh, ho, ho! Honey, which direction is Africa from the Mideast? Come on now! How much more can we help her, David? Honey, you know! Look, look, look....! No, I shouldn't even help you with a map. (Techi: Well, I don't know!) Honey... (David: OK! She got it! She got it!) All right! Let's go. Exchange your papers, please. Have you got any more questions, Honey? Do you need any more help? (Techi: No.) Did you change papers? (David: Yes, we did.)

Test Answers!

40. No. 1: Whom did the Lord choose to continue the journey to Canaan? (Kids: Abraham!)

41. Nos. 2 & 3: Name two things the Lord promised Abraham. (Techi: "Great nation" & "blessing.") "I will make thee a great nation, make thy name great‚ thou shalt be a blessing," any of those.

42. No. 4: How did he bless all the families of the Earth, especially our Family? (David: With Jesus!)

43. Did I ask you how old Abraham was? (Techi: No, we didn't get that question.) Well, let's answer it now. (Techi: 75!) Yes!

44. Nos. 5 & 6: And who were the two relatives? (Techi: Sarah & Lot.) That's right.

45. No. 7: And what else did he take with him? (David: He took lots of souls with him.) That's right. (Techi: He took lots of bodies & spirits with him!) He was a real soul winner! He took "all their substance they had gathered & the souls that they had won." You could have either said "substance" or "souls."

46. No. 8: And they came into what country? (Kids: Canaan.)

47. No. 9: And who lived there? (Kids: The Canaanites.) Right!

48. No. 10: And what did the Lord say He would do with that land? (Techi: Give it to...) (David: Abraham!) That's right. (Techi: I said "his seed," is that okay?) Well, both are correct. (Techi: But what does it actually say?) It says‚ "Unto thy seed will I give this land." So you got it just right! He gave it to both Abraham & his seed.

49. No. 11: So in thanks to the Lord he built a what? (Kids: An altar!)

50. No. 12: Near what town? (Kids: Bethel.) Right!

51. No. 13: And then he kept on going which direction? (Kids: South.)

52. No. 14: But what were they having in the country? (Kids: A famine.)

53. No. 15: So where did they go? (Kids: Egypt.)

54. No. 16: And what did Abraham call Sarah? (Kids: His sister!)

55. No. 17: And the Egyptians saw that she was what? (Kids: She was very fair.)

56. No. 18: So she went to live in whose house? (Kids: Pharaoh's.)

57. Nos. 19-21: And what did Pharaoh give Abraham? I'll name them: He gave them sheep, oxen, he asses, men servants‚ maid servants‚ she asses & camels, seven things, & I only asked you to name three. Did you get them? (Kids: Yes!)

58. No. 22: What happened to Pharaoh's house as a result of his planning to marry Sarah? (David: Plagues.) Yes, great plagues!

59. No. 23: And so when Pharaoh found this out, what did he command his men to do? (David: Send them out.) (Techi: I said "threw them out," is that OK?) Yes, that's fine! He sent them away.

60. No. 24: And Pharaoh let Abraham have Sarah & what else? You could say all their substance or "all that he had."

61. No. 25: And name one more thing of the things that Pharaoh gave Abraham.—Of the sheep, oxen, he asses, men servants, maid servants, she asses & camels. You could add any one of those things.

Grading Papers!

62. OK! Each question is worth four points. Multiply the number of "X's" times four, subtract from 100‚ & grade the paper, please. Then return it to its owner. We did another whole night's work in just one night! Praise the Lord! What did you make? (Kids: 100%) Both of you? (Kids: Yes!) Good for you! So now you can enter it on your list of tests, "Genesis 12 Test."

63. How many tests does that make? (David: That makes 18 tests!) Did you find your Test List, Techi? Maybe you need to have thumb tabs for your notebook. That's what I used to put on my notebooks‚ to separate each section according to whatever it was. (Techi: Look, I have them, see?) Good girl! That's fine! Yours should be no problem.

64. All right! Shall we pray? (David: Amen! Thank You Lord! We thank You for the test, Lord, & this interesting Chapter & how we got to learn things out of Your Word from it, in Jesus' name.—Amen!) Amen!

65. These are very famous stories & very important parts of Israel's history, which you should be familiar with as Bible students, don't you think? (Kids: Yes!) OK! Praise the Lord!

Picture captions & fact boxes:

Page 11:

"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out... obeyed; ...not knowing whither he went."—Heb. 11:8.

SHECHEM [SHEK uhm], Abraham's first stopping place in Canaan, in the center of the land, was in a vale of surpassing beauty, between Mt.Ebal & Mt.Gerizim, the site of modern Nablus. (See map on Pg.12.) Shechem means "shoulder‚" probably because the city was built mainly on the slope, or shoulder‚ of Mount Ebal. Situated where main highways & ancient trade routes converged, Shechem was an important city long before the Israelites occupied Canaan. The city has been destroyed & rebuilt several times through the centuries. When Abraham came to Shechem, the Lord appeared to him & announced that this was the land He would give to Abraham's descendants. In response, Abraham built his first altar to the Lord in Canaan at Shechem.

Upon his return from Padan Aram, Jacob, a grandson of Abraham, also built an altar to the Lord at Shechem (Gen.33:18-20). This marked Jacob's safe return to the Promised Land from the land of his exile. According to Jewish tradition, Jacob dug a deep well here. Jacob's Well is one of the few sites visited by Jesus that is identifiable today. Jesus visited with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well (John 4:12).

Ruins at Shechem.

Page 12:

BETHEL [pronounced BETH uhl], meaning "house of God," 20 miles south of Shechem, 10 miles north of Jerusalem, was Abraham's next stopping place. It was one of the highest points in Canaan, with a magnificent view in every direction. In Bethel, too, he built an altar, as he did later at Hebron, & as he had done at Shechem, not only as an acknowledgement to God‚ but also as a witness of his faith to the people among whom he had come to live. He must have liked Bethel; for that is where he settled when he returned from Egypt, till he & Lot separated. The region around Bethel is still suitable for grazing by livestock.

Jacob, Abraham's grandson, had a life-changing experience at this site. He had a vision of a staircase reaching into the heavens with the Angels of God "ascending & descending on it" (Gen.28:12). Jacob called the name of that place Bethel, "the house of God" (Gen.28:19). He erected a pillar at Bethel to mark the spot of his vision (Gen.28:22; 31:13). Jacob later built an altar at Bethel‚ where he worshipped the Lord (Gen. 35:1-16).

Page 13:

Camels have been used for centuries to carry & pull things. They are able to live in dry desert surroundings or in mountains, & can go for long periods without a drink. Water is stored in the lining of their stomach. The hump is a store of fat. The Arabian camel or dromedary has long legs & is built for speed. The Bactrian camel is a sturdier animal & is used more as a pack animal for carrying loads.

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(From Dad's Bible in Pictures Chapter 2:) When Abraham told the Egyptians that Sarah was his sister, he was half right, because she was his half–sister! There were no laws at that time against close blood relatives marrying, such as the incest laws of today, because Man's sins had not taken such a great toll upon the chromosomes & genes of his body to cause inbreeding to have bad results. That's why Cain, the son of Adam, could marry his own sister. Even brothers & sisters married in those earliest days—that's all they had to marry! Today most laws forbid even marriage of close relatives because it usually results in one of three things: They can be perfectly normal children; or they can become geniuses, outstanding & uncannily brilliant‚ talented children; or they can develop into idiots, morons, imbeciles, etc. So a good many places have laws against anything closer than first cousins marrying, & some even have laws against first cousins marrying. (Children of sisters & brothers are related to each other as "first cousins.")

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family