Week 4: Genesis Chapter 22 to 36

Before we move to Week 4, Let’s Recap Week 3..

God’s Promise, Human Fear, Divine Faithfulness..

In Genesis 12–21, the biblical story narrows from all humanity to one family chosen by God. God calls Abram to leave everything familiar and trust Him without knowing the destination (Genesis 12:1–4). Faith begins not with certainty, but with obedience.

Throughout these chapters, we see a repeated pattern:

God makes clear promises
Humans respond with fear, impatience, or compromise
God remains faithful and protects His covenant

From the unilateral covenant in Genesis 15 to the birth of Isaac in Genesis 21, we learn that God’s promises do not depend on human perfection. Even when Abraham fails, God intervenes to preserve the promise.

We also see that waiting refines faith. Attempts to “help” God through human effort (Hagar and Ishmael) bring pain, yet God shows mercy, hearing the cries of the overlooked and remembering His word.

Above all, Genesis 12–21 reveals a God who:

Calls personally
Keeps His promises
Sees, hears, and remembers

Looking Ahead: Week 4 — Genesis 22–36

Testing, Transformation, and the God Who Provides….

As we move into Week 4, the story intensifies. If Week 3 showed us the promise, Week 4 will test whether that promise is trusted above everything else.

What to Expect in Genesis 22–36..

1. The Ultimate Test of Faith (Genesis 22)..

We will encounter one of the most profound moments in Scripture:

Abraham asked to offer Isaac
The tension between promise and obedience
The first clear declaration: “The LORD will provide”

This chapter foreshadows the cross and invites us to wrestle with what it truly means to trust God.

2. God’s Faithfulness Across Generations

The focus shifts from Abraham to:

Isaac
Jacob
Esau

We will see that God’s plan continues despite favoritism, deception, and family conflict. God works not through perfect families, but through grace-covered ones.

3. Transformation Through Wrestling

Jacob’s journey will show us:

How God transforms identity
How wrestling with God leads to blessing
How brokenness becomes the place of encounter

Faith matures not just through belief, but through encounter and surrender.

4. A God Who Is Always Ahead of Us

Even when humans deceive, fail, or manipulate outcomes, God:

Protects the covenant
Advances His redemptive plan
Prepares the way for the coming Messiah

From the altar on Mount Moriah to the ladder reaching heaven, God is revealing that He is always at work — even when we don’t see it.

The story is unfolding — and you are invited to walk through it with open eyes and an open heart.

lamb, nature, sheep, fence, farm, animal, countryside, grass, field, pasture, farm animal

Genesis Chapter 22

JEHOVAH JIREH: The LORD Will Provide…

Genesis 22:1–2 — A Test Like No Other…. “Some time later God tested Abraham.”

This time God does not appear as El Shaddai (the Almighty) or emphasize covenant language. Instead, He asks Abraham for what Abraham loves most: “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go… and sacrifice him.” (22:2)

Genesis Chapters 23 & 24

Faithfulness in Loss, Love in the Ordinary.. Sarah dies at 127 years old, and Abraham mourns deeply. Scripture does not rush past his grief. Faith does not cancel sorrow. Yet what Abraham does next is remarkable…Abraham insists on buying the burial cave of Machpelah rather than accepting it as a gift. Why….

mill, water, old, architecture, nature, well, stone

Genesis Chapters 25 & 26

Promises Continue, Patterns Repeat… Genesis 25 — Generations Move Forward.. God’s promises outlive one life.. “Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.”

The promise is focused, not scattered. This reminds us: God’s covenant advances through God’s choosing, not human multiplication.

Genesis Chapters 27 & 28

Blessing, Betrayal, and a God Who Meets Us on the Run… Genesis 27 — A divided household (Genesis 27:1–4) Isaac plans to bless Esau secretly, despite knowing God’s word: “The older will serve the younger.”.. Genesis 28 – Genesis 28 — God Meets the Deceiver.. God makes promises before Jacob repents…

Cozy winter campfire scene with sausages cooking on sticks over burning logs in a forest setting.

Genesis Chapters 29 & 31

The God Who Sees the Unseen and Keeps His Promise… Genesis 29 — God Sees Leah… Jacob’s blind love and repeated history (Genesis 29:1–30).. Jacob arrives in Haran and immediately falls deeply in love with Rachel. “Jacob loved Rachel.” (29:18) This love becomes selective, emotional, and blinding. Ironically, the deceiver is deceived — Jacob, who disguised himself to steal…..

Genesis Chapters 32 & 33

From Fear to Face-to-Face Grace… Genesis 32 — Wrestling Before Reconciliation.. Jacob is moving toward fear, but God meets him with reassurance.. Faith and fear can coexist — but fear must not lead.
Genesis 33 — Reconciliation Through God’s Grace…God softens Esau’s heart…

goats, battle, wrestle, bellows, scuffle, to play, game, desire, animal, fighting stance, nature, billy goat, collision, horns, antler, zoo, petting zoo, cattle

Genesis Chapters 34 to 36

The Cost of Unfinished Transformation & God’s Faithfulness When Families Falter.. Genesis 34 is one of the most disturbing chapters in Genesis. There is no direct mention of God speaking, and that silence itself is telling. Unfinished transformation often shows up most painfully in our families. “Go up to Bethel” — God’s loving redirection