Bible Study

MID-WEEK BIBLE STUDY

December 10, 2024

PASTOR E.V. LIGHTFOOT

Introduction

I.  Primeval History: Establishing the Need for Redemption (1:1–11:26)

A.  Perfect Creation: The Absence of Sin (1:1–2:25)

1. An Overview of Perfection (1:2–2:3)

a. Inanimate Perfection (1:2-19)

b. Animate (Animal) Perfection (1:20-25).

c. Human Perfection (1:26-2:3)

2.  A Close-Up on the Human Ideal (2:4-25)

a. The Ideal Creation of Man (2:4-7)

b. The Ideal Place of Man (2:8-14)

c. The Ideal Responsibility of Man (2:15-25)

B. Fallen Humanity: The Advent of Sin (3:1-21)

1. The Lead Up to Sin (3:1-6)

a. Step One: Wrongly Recalling God’s Word Recalling God’s

Word (3:1-3)

b. Step Two: Wrongly Assessing God’s purposes (3:4-5)

c. Step Three: Wrongly Approving What Seems “Good” (3:6)

2. Humanity’s Response to Sin (3:7-8)

a. Conviction (3:7a)

b. Division from Each Other (3:7b)

c. Division from God (3:8)

3. God’s Response to Sin (3:9-21)

a. Gentle Confrontation (3:9-13)

b. Merciful Chastisement (3:14-20)

c. Gracious Forgiveness (3:21)  

C. Dire Consequences: The Aftermath of Sin (3:22–4:26)

1.  Exile: The Communal Aftermath of Sin (3:22-24)

a. The Problem (3:22)

b. God’s Gracious Solution (3:23)

c. The “Eastward” Paradigm (3:24)

2.  Murder: The Personal Aftermath of Sin (4:1-22)

a.  The Priority of Heart Attitude (4:1-8)

b. God’s Mercy, Again (4:9-12)

c.  Cain’s Repentance and God’s Grace (4:13-22)

3.  Injustice: The Legal Aftermath of Sin (4:23-26)

a.  Injustice as a Result of Ignoring God’s Example (4:2324)

b.  Injustice Not Preclusive of God’s Blessing (4:25)

c.  Injustice as a Catalyst for Turning People to God (4:26)

D.  Fallen World: The Attachment of Sin (5:1–11:26)

1.  Break in the Prosecution: God’s Blessing Despite Depravity

(5:1–6:8)

a. Hope of Redemption (5:1-32)

b.  God’s Gracious “Cap” on Depravity (6:1-4)

c. Measure of True “Spirituality” (6:5-8)

2.  The Flood: Humanity’s Chance to “Come Clean” of Depravity

(6:9–9:29)

a.  Prelude: A Righteous Remnant in a Depraved World (6:9-10)

b. Corruption of the Land (6:11-12)

c. God’s Covenant with Noah (6:13-20)

d. God’s Provision for Life (6:21-22)

e. Entering the Ark (7:1-9)

f. Prevailing of the Flood (7:10-24)

g. Subsiding of the Flood (8:1-14)

h. Exiting the Ark (8:15-22)

i. God’s Provision for Life (9:1-7)

j.  God’s Covenant with Noah and All Life (9:8-17)

k. Corruption of the Land (9:18-19)

l. Postlude: A Righteous Remnant in a Depraved World (9:20-29)

3.  The Depth of Depravity in Post-Flood Humanity (10:1–11:26)

a.  Setting the Stage for Universal Rebellion (10:1-32)

b.  Rebellion Expressed: The Rise and Fall of Universal Human Pride

(11:1-9)

c. Transition to Pardon (11:10-26)

II.  Patriarchal History: Delineating the Path of Redemption

(11:27–50:26)

A.  Descendants of Terah: God Making His Own Name for Man

(11:27–25:11)

1.  The Abrahamic Covenant: God’s Promise for Israel and the Nations (11:27–12:20)

a.  God’s Sovereign Choice: Abram’s Passivity (11:27-32)

b.  God’s Gracious Promises: Resetting Abram’s Direction (12:1-9)

c.  God’s Unshakable Hold: Abram’s Deep Depravity (12:10-20)

2.  Living in the Land: God’s Affirmation of the Covenant (13:1–14:24)

a.   Affirming Abram’s Right to the Land (13:1-18)

  b. Affirming Abram’s Might and Prosperity (14:1-16)

c.  Affirming Abram’s Blessing and Status (14:17-24)

3.  Ratifying the Covenant: God’s Compromise with Weak Faith (15:1-

21)

a.  Answering Abram’s Doubt about the Son (15:1-5)

b. Affirming Abram’s Imperfect Faith (15:6)

c.  Answering Abram’s Doubt about the Land (15:7-21)

4.  Doubting God: The Fall Reprised (16:1-16)

a. The Temptation (16:1-4a)

b. The Human Consequences (16:4b-6)

c. The Divine Response (16:7-16)

5.  Circumcision: The Sign of the Covenant (17:1-16)

a.  The Effected Covenant as the Basis of the Rite (17:1-8)

b. Content of the Rite (17:9-16)

c.  Abram’s Response to the Rite (17:17-27)