Tag: Christian Women

Women of Genesis Bible Study

The Women of Genesis: Lesson 19- Keturah, Hagar, Sarah, Rebekah

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

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Read Genesis 25

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Questions to Consider

1. Who are the three women named in verses 1-18? What was the relationship of each to Abraham? To the Abrahamic Covenant? Based on your answers to these questions, why don’t we hear anything else about the sons of Keturah and Hagar after Genesis 25? Why does the Bible follow the story of Abraham’s lineage through Sarah (Isaac) instead?

2. Why, in terms of inheritance and the Abrahamic Covenant, would Abraham have sent the sons of Keturah and Hagar away from Isaac? (6)

3. Briefly describe Sarah’s, Keturah’s, and Hagar’s “callings” in life. Did Hagar and Keturah have less intrinsic value as people in God’s eyes than Sarah did simply because their roles in Old Testament history were different from hers? Does the fact that God calls different people to different roles in life mean that He values or loves people with “important” roles more? Who places or allows people to be in the roles or life circumstances they’re in? Does God view our status in life the same way people do?

4. Do you see some similarities between Sarah and Rebekah in this chapter?

🍼 What is the first similarity we see in verse 21 (compare with 11:29-30)?

🍼🍼 Compare Isaac’s age when he married Rebekah (20) to his age when Jacob and Esau were born (26). How long did Isaac and Rebekah wait for God to open her womb? How long did Abraham and Sarah wait (compare 12:1-4 with 21:5)?

🍼🍼🍼 After opening their wombs, how many sons of the Covenant did Sarah have? How sons of the Covenant did Rebekah (24) have?

🍼🍼🍼🍼 How did Rebekah (23) and Sarah (17:19) find out about these Covenant sons?

5. Consider Rebekah’s possible concerns and emotional state at being barren for so long, and then bearing only two sons, when God had promised Abraham that his descendants would be “as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore”. How might God have used these circumstances in her life to teach her to trust Him? (22-23)

6. How do the motifs of barrenness, miraculous conception, and the one, promised, long-awaited son of the Covenant foreshadow the birth of Christ?

7. How does the story of Esau despising his birthright and Jacob redeeming it further confirm what God told Rebekah in verse 23 – that Jacob would be the son of the Abrahamic Covenant?

Homework

Think about the roles and statuses God has placed you in. Are you famous? Unknown? Do you wield a lot of power and influence, or very little? Are you wealthy, poor, or somewhere in between?

Read the Parable of the Talents. “Talents” were units of money the master entrusted to his servants to invest. What kinds of blessings, influence, resources, and abilities has God entrusted to you? Your marriage? Your singleness? Your home? The position you serve in at church? Money? Your children? Your job? Your relationships with friends?

What matters to God – how many of these things He has blessed you with, or how you steward them for His glory (see verses 21 &23)? List three ways you can faithfully make the most of the roles and statuses God has called you to for His glory.

Suggested Memory Verse

And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the older shall serve the younger.”
Genesis 25:23

Women of Genesis Bible Study

The Women of Genesis: Lesson 18- Rebekah

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

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Read Genesis 24

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Questions to Consider

1. Review lesson 17 (link above) and briefly set the scene for chapter 24. Who are the main characters? What events have recently transpired? Approximately how old is Isaac in chapter 24? (v.67)

2. Why didn’t Abraham want Isaac to marry a Canaanite woman? (3) Why did Abraham tell the servant not (6,8) to take Isaac back to his native land? (7) Think in terms of the Abrahamic Covenant and Abraham’s concept of possessing the land. What might the future ramifications of possessing the Promised Land (Canaan) have been if Isaac had intermarried with a Canaanite and had descendants who were partially Canaanite? What might have happened if Isaac had gone back to Abraham’s native land and stayed there- would Abraham’s lineage still have had a physical presence (possession) in the Promised Land after he died?

3. What impact would all of the issues in #2 have had on Rebekah when she married into this family?

4. What can we learn about marriage and betrothal customs of the time from this chapter? What else can we learn about Mesopotamian culture, such as hospitality, gender roles, authority and submission, etc.?

5. How do Abraham, Isaac, the servant, Rebekah’s family, and Rebekah each demonstrate their trust in God in this chapter? How does God demonstrate His trustworthiness in each of their situations?

6. Examine Rebekah’s words and actions in this chapter and write a brief character sketch of her. What are some ways she sets a good (or bad?) example for you as a Christian woman today?

7. How does this chapter showcase God’s sovereignty over our personal lives as well as over history?

Homework

Examine the decision-making process, and list the steps the servant took, to determine whether or not Rebekah was the right choice. (12-14) Does this serve as an instruction to Christians today on how to make godly decisions? Are we to pray for a sign or for wisdom to make godly decisions? Are we to expect God to verbally tell us what to do, or depend on His fully sufficient written Word for guidance? Do you have an upcoming decision to make? My article Basic Training: 8 Steps to Finding God’s Will for Your Life may be helpful.

Suggested Memory Verse

And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“Our sister, may you become
thousands of ten thousands,
and may your offspring possess
the gate of those who hate him!”
Genesis 24:60

Women of Genesis Bible Study

The Women of Genesis: Lesson 17- Sarah

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

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Read Genesis 21:22-23:20

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Questions to Consider

1. Briefly review lesson 15 (link above) as you read 21:22-34. What happened the last time Abraham and Sarah had an encounter with Abimelech? Why did Abimelech and Phicol think God was with Abraham? (22) How had they dealt kindly (23) with Abraham and Sarah?

2. Read 22:1-19. Why, according to verse 1, did God ask Abraham to offer Isaac? How is Abraham’s sacrifice of his one and only son a type and shadow of God’s sacrifice of His one and only son? Which elements and details of this story point ahead to elements and details of the crucifixion? (Hint: check out the cross-references) See also Hebrews 11:17-19

3. How many times is Sarah mentioned in 22:1-19? Why do you think that’s the case? Do you think Sarah knew what Abraham was going to do before he did it? List a few different ways Sarah might have reacted if Abraham had told her what he was about to do. How might she have reacted upon finding out what had happened after it was all over?

4. Examine 22:20-23. Considering that familial lines, inheritance, etc., were reckoned through male offspring, why does verse 23 specifically point out that Bethuel fathered Rebekah? (Hint: check your cross-references)

5. Read chapter 23. Keeping in mind our previous lessons about Sarah, what memories of her might have come to Abraham’s mind as he was mourning her death? (1-2) What might Abraham have learned from Sarah’s life about faith, sin, and godliness?

6. How old was Isaac when Sarah died? (See Genesis 17:17 and 23:1)

7. What can we learn about Abraham’s character from his encounter with the Hittites in chapter 23?

Homework

Pretend you’re attending Sarah’s funeral. Write her eulogy. What did we learn from her life? How did her life point us ahead to Christ?

Suggested Memory Verse

Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
Genesis 22:8

Women of Genesis Bible Study

The Women of Genesis: Lesson 16- Sarah and Hagar

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

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Read Genesis 21:1-21

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Questions to Consider

1. In lesson 13, we gave some thought to the idea that God made the formalized Abrahamic Covenant only with Abraham, not with Abraham and Sarah. But notice God’s attention to Sarah in verse 1. Analyze the two halves of verse 1. Who is the subject? The object? What action is performed? Compare verse 1 to Hebrews 11:11. What can we learn about Sarah’s faith and God’s faithfulness from these verses?

2. How old was Abraham when Isaac was born? (5) How old was Sarah? Imagine yourself becoming a first time mom at Sarah’s age. What might you be thinking? What are some of the things you might pray about? What are some new issues you might need to trust God about?

3. What does the name “Isaac” mean? (3- see footnote) There has been much laughter surrounding Sarah’s pregnancy and Isaac’s birth. Examine verse 6 along with these verses. How would you characterize Abraham’s and Sarah’s laughter? Scornful? Unbelieving? Shock and awe? Thinking about how absurd the situation would seem to others? (Hint: Think about how we often see God treat scorn and disbelief of His word in Scripture alongside the fact that Abraham and Sarah are both commended several times in the New Testament.) Who chose Isaac’s name? What kinds of things would Sarah have been reminded of every time she called Isaac’s name?

4. Look at Genesis 16:16 alongside 21:5, and factor in the fact that children were usually weaned (21:8) at 2-4 years of age in that time. Approximately how old would Ishmael have been in 21:9?

5. Read the footnote on verse 9, and examine this verse in a few other trustworthy translations. What set Sarah off? (10) Does this sort of behavior from Ishmael seem to fit with what God had spoken about him? Compare verses 10-13 with 17:18-21. Before Isaac was ever conceived, what had God already told Abraham and Sarah about which son would be “heir” of the Abrahamic Covenant? So what sort of heirship might Sarah have been concerned about Ishmael sharing with Isaac?

6. Compare Hagar’s second “exile” from Sarah’s household in verses 14-21 to her first in 16:6-15. What are some similarities? What are some differences? Which attributes of God are showcased in both of these stories? How is God “the God who sees me” (16:13) and “God hears” (16:11) in the second “exile” as well as the first? Compare Hagar’s trust in God in these two passages to the lack of trust in God Sarah has exhibited in recent passages.

7. Briefly review Sarah’s actions in Genesis 16 (lessons 11-12) with the consequences in both chapter 16 and chapter 21. How did Sarah’s sin of taking matters into her own hands instead of trusting God impact Abraham, Hagar, Ishmael, Isaac, and herself?

Homework

Consider the impact Sarah’s sin of failing to trust God had on all the members of her household. Consider the example Hagar still sets for us today because she trusted God. Think about a situation you’re going through in your own life. How could your failure to trust God hurt those around you? How could your trust in God set a godly example that might even open a door to sharing the gospel with someone?

Suggested Memory Verse

The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised.
Genesis 21:1

Mailbag

The Mailbag: MLM-ing Essential Oils at Church

Michelle Lesley

Our church has recently had a visitor come who is now promoting essential oils to the women who are flocking to a class she is having in one of their homes. This makes me very uncomfortable as it appears (to me) that she has visited to increase her MLM [multi-level marketing] customer base while touting medicinal cures via essential oils. Do you have any research on this?

Sounds like a multi-level mess! There are several different issues going on here, so let’s dig in…

Cold-calling at church
Um, no. I mean… OK, I’m just going to go there. Have you no shame? Have you no home training? I don’t care how much of a go-getter saleswoman you are, there are some lines you just don’t cross. And I can’t believe I’m actually having to explain to grown up, adult people that you don’t go church hopping to make sales and recruit people to work for you. What’s next, showing up at funerals to sell Avon? Pampered Chef demonstrations at wedding receptions?

Church is the place where a local body of Believers gathers to worship the almighty God of the universe. How dare anyone sully the Bride of Christ it by making it something as low and common as a networking site for her business! If you are visiting a church, you should be doing so to worship, not for any other reason. Jesus made that really clear.

Depending on how blatant, intrusive, and disruptive the visitor’s behavior at your church is, someone – preferably one of the women in the class that the visitor is close to, but if not, possibly an elder or the pastor – may need to pull her aside and firmly, yet lovingly, explain that she is welcome to come to church to worship, but not to hustle.

Multi-Level Members
The reader who sent in the question asked about someone who’s visiting her church, but I want to take a moment to speak to you ladies who are MLM-ing your own church.

Your fellow church members might be uncomfortable telling you this, so I’m going to do so on their behalf: Some of you are going too far and being too pushy with your businesses. And you’re putting your brothers and sisters in the no-win situation of either having to acquiesce to the pressure you’re putting on them or hurt your feelings by telling you no.

It’s certainly fine to tell people at church what your job is when they ask, but leave the ball in their court:

“What do you do?”

“I’m an independent sales consultant for Fancy Widgets.”

“Oh? That sounds great!”

“Yeah, it’s an awesome company. I love it! If you’d ever be interested in working with us or adding to your widget collection, just let me know. Want some coffee?”

And don’t bring it up again. She knows you’re her Fancy Widgets connection. If she wants something, she’ll find you.

If you leave it at that and you end up having a few people at church who want to order from you, it’s certainly OK to discreetly take orders from them or bring their products to them at church after services are over. It’s fine for people to approach you about your business, but don’t repeatedly ask people at church to host parties, invite people from church to parties others are hosting for you, attempt to recruit people, or push products. That’s a distraction from worship and fellowship, it gets on people’s nerves, and it will eventually end up alienating your church family.

Scientifically proven?
I don’t have much experience with essential oils, but it’s my understanding that some essential oils can help alleviate the symptoms of some ailments in some people. In other words, peppermint oil may work wonders on your migraine, but do nothing for mine. As long as the limits of the powers of the essential oils are made clear along with the potential benefits, there’s no problem. If the visitor is making snake oil-type promises that the essential oils don’t deliver on, that’s lying and she needs to be confronted about it. If it gets to that point, you need to let your pastor or elders know what’s going on in case she doesn’t stop and one of them ends up having to deal with her.

Essential Oils and New Age Spirituality
Some (not all) essential oils companies claim that their oils will bring about spiritual benefits in addition to (or instead of) physiological benefits. While it’s fine to say that a little lavender oil in your bath will help relax you, saying that it will balance your chakras or yin your yang or bring you inner peace and confidence or whatever is crossing the line into unbiblical (usually New Age) spirituality. No Christian should have anything to do with buying or selling such essential oils. If there’s someone in your church who’s promoting a company like that at church, that’s a church discipline issue, because she’s introducing false doctrine into the church.

Marcia Montenegro over at Christian Answers for the New Age has published numerous posts on the problems with New Age spirituality and essential oils.

If you have a question about: a Bible passage, an aspect of theology, a current issue in Christianity, or how to biblically handle a family, life, or church situation, comment below (I’ll hold all questions in queue {unpublished} for a future edition of The Mailbag) or send me an e-mail or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.