41 Pharaoh’s Dreams
42 Joseph Sees His Brothers
43 Joseph Sees His Brothers Again
44 Joseph Detains Benjamin
45 Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers
46 Israel’s Migration to Egypt
47 Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen
48 Blessing for Joseph’s Sons
49 Jacob’s Last Words
50 Burial in the Promised Land
42 Joseph Sees His Brothers
43 Joseph Sees His Brothers Again
44 Joseph Detains Benjamin
45 Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers
46 Israel’s Migration to Egypt
47 Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen
48 Blessing for Joseph’s Sons
49 Jacob’s Last Words
50 Burial in the Promised Land
What are the best reasons to believe our earth and skies did not create themselves?
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Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the skies above and the earth below.
King James
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
How would you describe the “formless void” that existed before the Spirit of God began to move?
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Genesis 1:2 The earth was a formless void covered by darkness when the Spirit of God began to move over the surface.
King James
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. )
Scientists measure the age of the universe in billions of years, which dates its beginning. What existed before there was light?
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Genesis 1:3 God said, “Let there be light,” and light exploded into existence.
King James
Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Out of what did God create light?
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Genesis 1:3 God said, “Let there be light,” and light exploded into existence.
King James
Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
By what comparison can the light that God created be evaluated and known to be “perfect”?
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Genesis 1:4 God evaluated the light and saw that it was perfect according to his plan, and he made the light distinct from the darkness.
King James
Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
If the sun and moon had not yet been created, how was there be Day and Night?
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Genesis 1:5 He named the light Day and the darkness Night. With evening and morning came the first day.
King James
Genesis 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
How much was accomplished in the first day of creation?
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Genesis 1:5 He named the light Day and the darkness Night. With evening and morning came the first day.
King James
Genesis 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Do you think the creation days were each twenty-four hours long, or were they a period marked by something other than Earth time? Why?
Author’s Thoughts
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Genesis 1:1–5 In the beginning, God created the skies above and the earth below.
The earth was a formless void covered by darkness when the Spirit of God began to move over the surface.
God said, “Let there be light,” and light exploded into existence. God evaluated the light and saw that it was perfect according to his plan, and he made the light distinct from the darkness. He named the light Day and the darkness Night. With evening and morning came the first day.
King James
Genesis 1:1–5 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
What changed to give Earth an atmosphere?
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Genesis 1:6–8 God said, “Let there be an atmosphere to divide the waters from the waters.” So the atmosphere formed to divide the waters from the waters, and God called it “sky.” With evening and morning, the second day of creation was completed.
King James
Genesis 1:6–8 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
What was Earth like before the creation of seas and land?
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Genesis 1:9–10 God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky be gathered in one place, and let dry ground appear.” So it happened exactly as God said. He called the dry ground “earth,” and he called the waters “seas.” In evaluating his work, he saw that it was all good, perfectly suiting his purpose.
King James
Genesis 1:9–10 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
Upon what criteria did God base his judgment that his creation of land and sea was “good”?
Author’s Thoughts
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Genesis 1:10 He called the dry ground “earth,” and he called the waters “seas.” In evaluating his work, he saw that it was all good, perfectly suiting his purpose.
King James
Genesis 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
How did God create the vegetation upon Earth?
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Genesis 1:11–13 “Let the earth produce grass,” God said. “Let there be vegetation, including trees that bear fruit with seeds.” So it was that grass and trees and all forms of vegetation rose from the ground, and all was as God intended it to be. Thus the third day was completed, evening and morning.
King James
Genesis 1:11–13 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.
Before God created the sun, moon, and stars on the fourth day, what existed in the universe?
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Genesis 1:14–19 “Let there be lights in the sky to separate day from night,” God said. “Let them be for signs, seasons, days, and years and to give light upon the earth.” So that’s what happened. He made two powerful lights, the bright one to rule the day and the weaker one to light the night. With those and the stars he put in space, he gave light upon the earth, to rule over day and night, to separate light from darkness. God made sure that all was right, exactly as it needed to be. With evening and morning, the fourth day was complete.
King James
Genesis 1:14–19 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Why did God first create animals for the air and waters, but not for the land?
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Genesis 1:20–23 “Let the waters be filled with living creatures,” God said. “Let birds fill the skies above the earth.” So the waters were teeming with whales, fish, and other creatures of the sea. All sorts of birds, large and small, filled the air. It was all as God had planned it to be. God blessed the creatures he had made, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply throughout the oceans and seas. Let the birds live everywhere on the earth.” With evening and morning, the fifth day passed.
King James
Genesis 1:20–23 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
How many species of animals do you think existed in the beginning?
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Genesis 1:24–26 God said, “Let the earth give life to animals—livestock and reptiles and four-footed creatures, big and small—all kinds of creatures to roam the land.” So it was that different species of wildlife and domestic animals came upon the earth exactly as God needed it to be.
Then God said, “Let’s make humans in our image, as we are. Let them rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the animals that walk or crawl upon the earth.”
King James
Genesis 1:24–26 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
When God created people in his own image, in what ways were they like him? In what ways were they different??
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Genesis 1:27–28 God created people in his own image, making them male or female. He blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Populate and subdue the earth. Rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the animals that roam the earth.
King James
Genesis 1:27–28 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
What kind of diet did people have in the beginning?
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Genesis 1:29 “Listen,” he said, “you can eat of every seed-bearing herb and from every tree, fruit that has seeds. All are good for food.
King James
Genesis 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
How did animals and birds know what was good to eat?
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Genesis 1:30 I have made vegetation to feed all the animals and birds.”
King James
Genesis 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
What did wild animals eat?
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Genesis 1:30 I have made vegetation to feed all the animals and birds.”
King James
Genesis 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
What was the extent of God’s creation on the sixth day?
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Genesis 1:24–31 God said, “Let the earth give life to animals—livestock and reptiles and four-footed creatures, big and small—all kinds of creatures to roam the land.” So it was that different species of wildlife and domestic animals came upon the earth exactly as God needed it to be.
Then God said, “Let’s make humans in our image, as we are. Let them rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the animals that walk or crawl upon the earth.” God created people in his own image, making them male or female. He blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Populate and subdue the earth. Rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the animals that roam the earth.
“Listen,” he said, “you can eat of every seed-bearing herb and from every tree, fruit that has seeds. All are good for food. I have made vegetation to feed all the animals and birds.”
God inspected all he had made and saw that it was very good, perfectly suited for his purpose. With evening and morning, the sixth day ended.
King James
Genesis 1:24–31 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.