Unfolding Grace – Week 3

Babel and the Promise to Abraham (Genesis 10-12)

Read pages 35-42 in Unfolding Grace this week.

1. God told Adam and Noah: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” Do you see a problem in relation to God’s clearinstruction in the opening verses of chapter 11? What is it?

2. The people repeatedly say, “Come, let us…,” inviting all the people of Babel to work together on a great project. What do you think is the problem with their plans? What sinful attitudes, values, and fears do the people’s goals indicate to you?

3. In what ways are people today like those who built the tower? As you look back over your life, do you see times when you’ve tried to secure your own future or make a name for yourself?

4. How was God’s action of dispersing people all over the face of the earth and giving them many different languages both a judgment and an act of grace?

5. Why do you think Moses included this part of primeval history for his original readers, the children of Israel, who were preparing to enter the Promised Land?

6. Genesis 1-11 serves as the prologue of human history. How is Jesus the answer to all the problems introduced in the first 11 chapters of Genesis?

7. What did God promise Abram in the opening verses of chapter 12? How do these verses offer tremendous hope in light of the grim situation of humanity in Genesis 3–11?

8. From Sunday’s sermon, what did you find either most encouraging or most challenging?