Rooting Path · Old Testament Survey · Lesson 2: One Family Receives the Promise
This lesson in one sentence: God’s promise rested on an imperfect family; again and again the promise was in danger, and again and again God kept it safe.
Timing (about 60 minutes)
- Opening5 min
- Read Together10 min
- Practice Together15 min
- Discussion20 min
- This Week5 min
- Pray for One Another5 min
Opening
Is there a saying an elder in your family often repeated that you still remember?
Read Together
1Now the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. 2I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
Gen 12:1–3 · WEB
5The LORD brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So your offspring will be.” 6He believed in the LORD, who credited it to him for righteousness.
Gen 15:5–6 · WEB
19Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive, as is happening today.
Gen 50:19–20 · WEB
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive.
Gen 50:20 · WEB
Practice Together
Write the events of ‘The Patriarchs’ on slips of paper (Abraham’s call, God’s covenant with Abraham, the offering of Isaac, Jacob receiving the blessing… Joseph ruling in Egypt, Jacob’s whole family going down to Egypt), put them in order as a group, then check against the timeline. Once they are in order, go through them one by one: what danger did the promise face here? How did God keep it safe?
Discussion
- “He believed in the LORD, who credited it to him for righteousness” (Gen 15:6)—Abram believed before he saw. What do you believe now but have not yet seen?
- The families of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph were all imperfect. What comfort is it to you that God works through families like these?
- “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Gen 50:20)—can you name something you only understood looking back?
This Week
This week read the story of Joseph: Genesis 37 and 39–45, a chapter or two a day. When you reach chapter 45, notice how Joseph speaks to his brothers about being sold.
Each person says how they will read the story of Joseph this week (Genesis 37 and 39–45).
Closing
In pairs, pray one sentence for something in your partner’s family they cannot let go of.
Tips for the leader
- When talking about family history, some may carry deep pain. Just listen, don’t probe; don’t rush to comfort someone who is suffering with ‘God meant it for good’.
- The patriarchs’ wrongdoing (lying, favoritism, many wives) is recorded honestly, which does not mean it is approved; there is no need to judge each one in the group.
General principles for leaders
- The leader is not a teacher but someone who walks alongside everyone.
- Give everyone a chance to speak; with someone who talks a lot, you can gently say, ‘Let’s also hear from friends who haven’t spoken yet.’
- Don’t rush to give answers. If someone is silent, wait a few more seconds.
- For a question you can’t answer, you can say, ‘I don’t know either; let’s look it up together,’ and note it down for next time.
- What is said in the group stays in the group.
- At the opening, the leader can give their own answer first, showing that it can be simple and honest.