***Much of the commentary here is paraphrased from The Heart of the Story: God's Masterful Design to Restore His People, and the discussion questions are selected from The Story: Getting to the Heart of God's Story, Participant's Guide both are by Randy Frazee.
Chapter 1: Creation: The Beginning of Life as We Know It (Gen 1-4)
In the beginning, God created the universe and everything in it: light/darkness, water/sky, land/sea, sun/moon/stars, and animals of all kinds. God looked at his creation and called it "good". But, it was not until he created mankind, in his own image, that God said that this was "very good"! We see from the very start that God's big plan was (and still is) to connect His Upper Story with our Lower Story - to commune, and "do life" with the "crown jewel" of his creation...us!!! :)
God had created a perfect place, a garden, where he could fellowship with Adam and Eve. He also gave them the freedom to choose. And as we all know, they made the choice to disobey God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God's vision was rejected. They were banished from the garden, but not without God making this promise to the deceitful serpent first..."And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Gen 3:15 NIV) This is the first we see of the promise of a savior, Jesus...the one who would "crush" and defeat Satan once and for all, so that we could commune with God again...forever! As we study the rest of the Bible, we'll see God's relentless pursuit to get us back!
Discussion: If you could take a walk with God in the perfect garden of paradise, just like you would with a friend, what would you ask him and why?
Chapter 2: God Builds a Nation (Gen 12-30)
Hold onto your hats...this part's going to move fast. ;)
So, how is God going to get us back??? World-wide flood does NOT wipeout the sinful nature of man (see Noah and the Flood - Gen 6-11). Time for Plan B...build a nation of people who would want to know God as much as he wanted to know them. God chose a childless old couple, Abram (age 75) and Sarai (age 65), told them to pack up and move to another country, and then promised to bless them with a great nation...descendants as many as the stars! "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you." ( Genesis 17:7 NIV) Furthermore, this nation would bless all the peoples of the earth.They laughed, but trusted God anyways. After 10 years of waiting they thought they would "help God out" by enlisting a "surrogate" (their servant Hagar) - Ishmael was born. God reassured them they'd have their own child, and he changed their names to Abraham ("father of many") and Sarah ("princess"). When Abraham was 100 years old, Isaac (which means "laughter") was born. God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac when he was 15, again, Abraham trusted God, and Isaac was spared. Isaac married Rebekah, they had twins, Esau and Jacob. Though Esau was entitled to the family blessing and inheritance, through a twisted sequence of events, Jacob gets the blessing. Jacob had12 sons, and after "wrestling" with God, his name was changed to "Israel". The twelve sons and their descendants would become the 12 tribes of Israel...the Israelites.The amount of trust displayed from Abraham and Sarah is really unfathomable. First, to wait 25 years for the promise of a child, especially in their old age, and then to be asked to sacrifice that child??? All that trust, even without a complete understanding that this was all part of God's Upper Story plan to get us back. It would've been very easy for Abraham and Sarah to let their Lower Story perspective of "we're too old for this nonsense", or "no way God, we can't sacrifice our only son" get in the way. This display of trust would set a great example for a nation of God's people. On a side note of great importance...the hill of Moriah, where Abraham was asked to take Isaac to be sacrificed, would be the same hill in Jerusalem, two thousand years later, where Jesus would be crucified - amazing! More on this later. :)
Discussion: Tell about an older person in your life who has been a model of faith and love for God. How have you seen their life impact the lives of others and yours?
Chapter 3: Joseph (From Slave to Deputy Pharaoh) (Gen 37-50)
So, Jacob (Israel) has now had the family's blessing (God's covenant to make a great nation) passed to him, but a famine that will threaten the lives of this family is on the horizon. Through a series of well-orchestrated, sometimes heart-wrenching events, God sees to it that his people flourish. Again, from a Lower Story perspective, the young man meant to carry out this plan could've easily given up when he was faced with adversity over and over, but he never stopped trusting God (I'm seeing a theme here). Even without complete understanding, he clearly saw at least a glimpse of God's Upper Story plan here. If you have not already, I highly recommend reading the story of Joseph...a summary just doesn't do it justice...I'll just touch on it here.
Though he had 12 sons, Jacob had a definite favorite...Joseph, his second to youngest. Big brothers were already jealous enough, but Joseph made it worse by telling them that he had a dream that someday they would bow down to him. They'd had enough, and plotted to kill Joseph. They settled for throwing him in a pit, and later sold him as a slave to a band of gypsies on their way to Egypt. The brothers then lied to Jacob and told him that Joseph was dead. From that point on, Joseph was on a rollercoaster of highs and lows in Egypt, but one thing never changed...Joseph remained a faithful servant of God, believing that no matter the circumstance, God had a plan and was always with him. When the famine struck, Joseph's brothers came to Egypt looking for food. By this time, Joseph was now second in command under the Pharaoh (yes, from the pit to the palace!) - it was his decision whether they would be given food or not! And through one of the most beautiful examples of grace and forgiveness ever, Joseph saved his family. "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Gen 50:20 NIV). The 12 tribes of Israel flourished in Egypt. Discussion: At the end of chapter 3 of The Story (or Gen 45), Joseph was reunited with his brothers 22 years after they sold him off as a slave. What strikes you about Joseph's attitude toward his brotheres and the way he treats them? What does this teach us about the condition of his heart and the the depth of his faith?
