Only the beginning, only just the start… Creation Creation of man The Fall The Flood The Tower of Babel The story of the lives of four men Genesis 1-11 Genesis 12-50

The purpose of the Bible To explain God’s attempt to establish His kingdom on earth.

Genesis – the Purpose To explain Israel’s beginning and purpose in the establishment of God’s rule on earth.

Genesis – The Structure Genesis is divided by markers in different sections, each highlighted by a certain Hebrew word best translated by “What became of…”

Genesis – The Structure – 6:9-8:22 The author has led us to understand both how and why Israel was a necessity and why they had to be a separate people in a separate land.

Genesis – The Outline I. Early Events (1:1-11:26) A. Creation of the Heavens and the Earth (1:1-2:3) B. What became of the heavens and the earth (2:4-4:26) C. What became of Adam (5:1-6:8) D. What became of Noah (6:9-9:29) E. What became of the Sons of Noah (10:1-11:9) F. What became of Shem (11:10-26)

Genesis – The Outline II. The Stories of the Patriarchs (11:27-50:26) A. What became of Terah 1. The making of the covenant with Abram (11:27-15:21) 2. The provision of the promised seed for Abraham whose faith was developed by testing (16:1-22:19) 3. The transition of the promises to Isaac by faithful Abraham 22:20-25:11

The Story of God’s Grace – The death of Sarah Gen. 23 Death is a harsh reality even in the lives of the Fathers in the Scriptures… …but just as real is the loyal love of God!

The Story of God’s Grace – The story continues Gen. 24 Key word = “Loyal Love” The idea of faithfulness, kindness, loyalty to the covenant God makes.

The Story of God’s Grace – The story continues Gen. 24 Four sections. Four participants.

The Story of God’s Grace – The story continues Gen. 24 Four sections: The Commission 1-9 The Trust 10-27 The Success 28-59 The Completion 60-67

The Story of God’s Grace – The story continues Gen. 24 Four Participants: Abraham prepares for the future The servant (Eliezer – 15:2) carries it out God performs it Rebekah responds to it

The Story of God’s Grace – The story continues Gen. 24 Through all of this, God is the Mover behind all of it. “The Lord has led me” is the motto – v. 27

The Story of God’s Grace – The story continues Gen. 24 God acted “behind the scenes” throughout. No word from God No miracle No prophetic oracle No restatement of the Abrahamic Covenant

The Story of God’s Grace – The story continues Gen. 24 We need to realize that just because God is not visibly active does not mean He is not active!

The Story of God’s Grace – The story continues Gen. 24 God is not only sovereign…He has a plan! Many things could have gone wrong, but He made sure! God’s grace makes sure!

The Story of God’s Grace – The story continues Gen. 24 In the midst of sovereignty = human responsibility: The servant was faithful to his task He prayed and trusted His motivation was covenant loyalty (9, 12, 27) He praised God before it was over! (27, 48, 49)

The Story of God’s Grace – The story continues Gen. 24 All involved knew what we should know: When we do God’s will, with prayer and obedience, we experience His leading. Proverbs 3:5-6

The Story of God’s Grace – The story continues Gen. 24 God’s grace is seen in His faithfulness to those who are undeserving!

…the story of God’s grace… Five women. Five stories. All had questions surrounding them.

…the story of God’s grace… All of their stories resulted in the glory of God. All of their stories emphasize one word… Grace! The story of Christmas is a story of God’s grace!

…the story of God’s grace… Story #1: Tamar Matthew 1:2-3 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar… Some background…

…the story of God’s grace… A nation in trouble Genesis 34 = Simeon and Levi Genesis 35 = Reuban Genesis 36 = Esau strong… and pagan

…the story of God’s grace… A nation in trouble Genesis 37:26 = “He ain’t heavy, I’ll just sell him…” “The Lion of the tribe of.. Oh,oh…” Genesis 38 = Get them outta there!

…the story of God’s grace… Tamar Unbelief Immorality Self-righteousness

…the story of God’s grace… Great shame to great blessing! Ruth 4:12 “May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the LORD will give you from this young woman.”

…the story of God’s grace… Story #2: Rahab Matthew 1:4-5 …Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab…

…the story of God’s grace… Nahshon was… the brother-in-law of Aaron, the High Priest (Ex. 6:23) the leader of Judah, the largest tribe in Israel (Num. 2:3) When Israel moved out, Judah went first, led by Nahshon (Num. 10:14)

…the story of God’s grace… Nahshon was… Nahshon may well have been regarded as the third most powerful man in Israel, behind Moses and Aaron His son’s name was Salmon… …which sounds fishy to me…

…the story of God’s grace… His parents now dead, Jericho now destroyed, the son of this powerful man chooses a wife… … a Gentile…and… …known by everyone with the title… “the harlot”… Rahab.

…the story of God’s grace… But… Rahab is a woman of faith. Her son learns that even living with a Gentile can be alright and honor God. To Rahab and Salmon is born Boaz.

…the story of God’s grace… Story #3: Ruth Matthew 1:5 …Boaz begot Obed by Ruth…

…the story of God’s grace… Ruth is questionable in the genealogy due to her place as another Gentile, a Moabites. Yet, few stories in Scripture highlight the godly character of a person more than the story of Ruth.

…the story of God’s grace… Ruth, a Gentile woman, ends up being the grandmother of King David.

…the story of God’s grace… Story #4: Bathsheba Matthew 1:5b-6 Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king.    David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.

…the story of God’s grace… Rather than using her name, Matthew simply refers to her Bathsheba as “(the one) who had been the wife of Uriah”. Her story, along with David’s, is famous for immorality, for betrayal of a noble man, and for mass murder.

…the story of God’s grace… It marked a turning point in the life of David. Grace Solomon = Peace!

…the story of God’s grace… Story #5: Mary Mary stands as the fifth woman in this story. To many, it was assumed that Mary had sinned (John 8:41b, 48).

…the story of God’s grace… After all, without the revelation of God, what else would they assume? But, they would be wrong.

…the story of God’s grace… Through Mary came the Savior of the world! Question Why does the New Testament begin this way?

Of all people, disciples of Jesus Christ should be the most gracious… And we are often the most legalistic, unforgiving, unkind, demanding people. It’s not altogether surprising.

We can create our own systems, our own “checks”. People who understand and value holiness, like the Jews did, can fall into a trap. We can create our own systems, our own “checks”. And, we forget what God is like. We forget what we are like.

Self-righteousness is subtle. Our memories are short. But… We serve a God who is gracious. We serve a God who can “fix” life.

That should be our story The story of Christmas is a story of God’s grace. That should be our story …for the New Year… …for every year!