Chapter 2: In the Beginning

Chapter 2: In the Beginning

UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES

ANTICIPATORY SET Discuss the creation of time, space, and life, focusing on what was created on days 1–3.

1. In the Beginning (pp. 40–43)

BASIC QUESTIONS What did God create on each of the seven days of

creation? Is there a conflict between creation and evolution?

KEY IDEAS God created everything in six days and rested on

the seventh. Properly understood, there is no conflict between

divine creation of the universe and the evolution of species.


FOCUS QUESTIONS How does the first day of Creation express the idea of the creation of time? The separation of light from darkness—differentiating day from night even before the creation of the sun—shows the occurrence of time, the succession from one state to another. How does the second day of Creation express the idea of the creation of space? The universe was previously described as “water,” which God separated by the firmament. Where there was only one place, now there are two. What do the earth, the sea, and all plants have in common? God saw that they were good.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What does God do on the fourth day of Creation? He makes two great lights: one to rule the day, the other to rule the night. What does God do on the fifth day of Creation? He creates creatures to live in the sea and in the air. What is the blessing God gave the sea and winged birds? He gave them a blessing to be fruitful and multiply, filling the seas and the earth.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the last thing God created? After having created living things for the land, God created man. How is man a unique creature? God created man “in our image, after our likeness.” What is the blessing God gave man? Man is to multiply and have dominion over the earth and every creature.


GRAPHIC ORGANIZER Work with a partner to complete the following table about the days of creation.



GUIDED EXERCISE A think / pair / share on the following question: What was God’s conclusion about his creative work?


FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the view of most Catholic interpretations of the Creation with respect to the literal number of days Creation took? Most Catholic interpretations do not take the position that the universe was created in six 24‑hour days. How is the Hebrew view of history different from modern views of history? Modern historians try to record events that happened, just as they happened, in chronological order. In Genesis, the “religious historians” captured the Truth about man’s relationship with God, specifically why God created, not how he created.


GUIDED EXERCISE Write a paragraph describing the contradiction between the doctrine of Original Sin and the hypothesis of polygenism.


CLOSURE Discuss the beings that rule over creation of time, space, and life, focusing on what was created on days 4–6.


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

Study Questions 2–3, 5–7 (p. 80)Practical Exercise 1 (p. 82)Workbook Questions 1–8Read “Creation: A Covenant with the Universe” through “God Our Father” (pp. 44–49)


ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Free write for five minutes about what God “did” on the seventh day of creation.


ANTICIPATORY SET Read Matthew 19:1–9. (Recall the Anticipatory Set about Christ perfecting the Mosaic Law, p. 15.) In this passage, how does Christ fulfill the Law?

2. A Covenant with the Universe (pp. 44–49)

BASIC QUESTIONSWhy did God create the universe?What does it mean to be made in the image of God?What is the nature of marriage?In what sense is God our Father?

KEY IDEASCreation is a great Temple for the worship of God.Human beings are created with reason, free will, and the capacity to love.Each marriage is a covenant instituted by God between a man and a woman.God, as a loving Father of his children, created Adam and Eve to co‑create with him.


FOCUS QUESTIONS Why can the Creation account be understood as two sets of three? During the first three days God created forms, and during the next three days he created inhabitants to fill those forms: sun and moon (day and night), birds and fish (sky and sea), and animals and humans (land). What is the relationship between the two groups of three (previous question)? The second group rules over the first: sun and moon rule over day and night, birds and fish rule over sky and sea, and animals and humans rule over the land. What is the relationship between swearing a covenant and the number seven in Creation? In Hebrew, “to swear a covenant” and “to seven oneself” are identical. By creating the world in seven days, God is making a covenant with creation.


FOCUS QUESTIONS How is Creation like a great Temple for the worship of God the Creator? God created an “extra” day—the seventh, or covenant, day—which he blessed and hallowed. God rested on this seventh day and invites us into this day of holy rest. Why is God immovable? God is everywhere and cannot go from one place to another; he is already there. How does God experience time? God fills all of time. For God, the past, present, and future are as if one moment.


GUIDED EXERCISE A focused reading of the section “Creation is Good” (p. 46). How do Catholics respond to those who say the physical world and the human body are evil?


GRAPHIC ORGANIZER Work with a partner to complete the following table about the meaning of man’s having been created in the image of God.



GUIDED EXERCISE Read no. 369 from the Catechism, on the creation of man as male and female with the mission of being fruitful. 369 Man and woman have been created, which is to say, willed by God: on the one hand, in perfect equality as human persons; on the other, in their respective beings as man and woman. "Being man" or "being woman" is a reality which is good and willed by God: man and woman possess an inalienable dignity which comes to them immediately from God their Creator. Man and woman are both with one and the same dignity "in the image of God". In their "being-man" and "being-woman", they reflect the Creator's wisdom and goodness. Discuss the implications of this doctrine in light of the following: DivorcePolygamyMale supremacyHomosexual actsBisexuality and transgender issuesArtificial methods of birth control

2. A Covenant with the Universe (pp. 44– 49)

FOCUS QUESTIONS Who instituted marriage, and when? God instituted marriage at the moment he created man male and female. What are the four marks of marriage? Marriage was created to be permanent, lifelong, indissoluble, and fruitful. How is the human family like the Blessed Trinity? The Blessed Trinity is an infinite family of three Persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God has designed marriage so that, in love, two become one, then three, then four, then five... biologically, psychologically, and socially.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What two names for God are used in Genesis, and what is suggested by each? The name Elohim suggests the infinite power of God the Creator, whereas Yahweh, often rendered “LORD,” suggests God’s “covenant” love, his love as Father for us. What is the connection between Adam and the Old Testament priests? The words used to describe the work God gave Adam to do in the garden, “to till it and keep it,” were the same words later used to describe the work priests would perform in the Temple. In what sense were Adam and Eve, as husband and wife, co‑creators with God? Adam and Eve, like all husbands and wives, carry on the Creator’s work of transmitting life to their descendants.


CLOSURE Use the completed Graphic Organizer on man’s having been created in the image of God to write a well‑organized paragraph on this topic.


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 1, 4, 8–16, 18, 25 (pp. 80–81)Practical Exercise 3 (p. 82)Workbook Questions 9–26Read “The Fall” through “The Sons of God and the Daughters of Men” (pp. 50–55)


ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Discuss the question of origins using these questions: What is the attitude of the Church toward evolution and scientific progress?Some scientists claim science has disproven the Bible and even the existence of God. Why are these not scientific conclusions?Why can science not answer metaphysical questions about the origins of the universe and man?


ANTICIPATORY SET Analyze the illustration on page 51 and share details you notice about it. The painting is called “Eve, the Serpent, and Death” and was painted during the sixteenth century.

3. The Lines of Cain and Seth (pp. 50–55)

BASIC QUESTIONSHow did Adam and Eve fall from grace?What is the Protoevangelium?What was the character of the descendants of Cain?What was the character of the descendants of Seth? KEY IDEASAdam and Eve were seduced by the serpent and brought spiritual death to themselves and their descendants through Original Sin.God promised Adam and Eve a Savior; the curse they incurred is a manifestation of God’s love.The descendants of Cain sought personal glory in a world of sin and violence, reaching their peak in the seventh generation (Lamech).In contrast, the descendants of Seth worked for God’s glory.


FOCUS QUESTIONS Why did Eve decide to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? After the serpent lied (she would not die but be like God, knowing good and evil), Eve saw the tree was good for food, that it was a delight to the eyes, and it was to be desired to make one wise. What is the nahash? Nahash is the Hebrew word for the serpent that tempted Eve. In the Old Testament, nahash is used to refer to powerful, evil creatures. The nahash here is a deadly liar. What was the gravest work of the Devil that Christ came to earth to destroy? “The mendacious seduction that led man to disobey God” (CCC 394).


GRAPHIC ORGANIZER Complete the following table to organize the consequences of the Fall (Original Sin).



FOCUS QUESTIONS What things, more important than natural life, did Adam and Eve lose when they sinned? They lost supernatural life, original holiness, and original justice. Why does the Church baptize even tiny infants? She does so because of Adam’s sin, which is transmitted to every person by generation. What “wisdom” did Adam and Eve gain from choosing to disobey God? Their eyes were open to their own nakedness and sin.


GUIDED EXERCISE A think / pair / share on the following question. Why does the Church see God’s words to the serpent as the “First Gospel,” or Protoevangelium?


FOCUS QUESTIONS What was the first “fruit” of Adam and Eve’s sin? It is fratricide: Cain murdered Abel. What was the root of Cain’s sin? It was envy. How did Cain present himself when confronted by God? Cain presented himself as a persecuted victim. When God asked him where his brother was, Cain replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gn 4:9). Then he claimed God was going to make people try to kill him.


GUIDED EXERCISE: A mini‑lecture about the effects of Original Sin.

Original Sin is transmitted to every human person by way of a wounded human nature.The effect of Original Sin is not moral guilt as if the person has committed personal sin; it is a wounded nature that tends to sin.Because of Original Sin, the intellect is darkened, which makes the truth harder to find; the will is weakened, which makes the good harder to do; and the passions tend to dominate reason and the will.Because of Original Sin, people experience pain, sickness, and eventually death.The chief consequence of Original Sin is the privation (lack and need) of sanctifying grace; people were made to be in relationship with God and share in God’s own life, but Original Sin alienates them.


The Sacrament of Baptism restores sanctifying grace to the soul, though it does not restore human nature from its wounds.There are two common errors with respect to Original Sin:1. some exaggerate the effects of Original Sin; for example, John Calvin taught human nature is totally depraved, and the Manichaeans claimed everything physical is evil;2. some underestimate the effects of or deny Original Sin altogether; for example, Rousseau and the Romantics claimed people are totally good by nature but corrupted by society.Which reading of Original Sin best explains human history:1. man is naturally perfectible;2. man is totally corrupt; or 3. man possesses a basically good but wounded nature?


FOCUS QUESTIONS What infamous distinction does Cain’s descendant Lamech have? He is the first man recorded to have had two wives, the first bigamist and polygamist. What was similar about the way Lamech treated women and men? He viewed both women and men as objects to be used. He broke his marriage covenant and killed men who offended him in any way. How is Christ’s ethic of forgiveness opposed to Lamech’s ethic of revenge? When a Christian is struck he is supposed to turn the other cheek, and he is to forgive a brother who sins against him not seven times but “seventy times seven.” (Seventy‑seven and seventy times seven are different translations of the same phrase.) Conversely, Lamech would slay a man for wounding or even striking him; whereas Cain took seven‑fold vengeance, Lamech took “seventy‑seven‑fold.”


FOCUS QUESTIONS When Seth had a son, Enoch, what does it mean to say men began to “call upon the name of the Lord”? It means people began to worship God. How are Seth’s descendants different from Cain’s? While Cain named a city after his son to make a name for himself, Seth’s descendants put the glory of God first. What conclusion should be drawn from Seth having been Adam’s son in the same way Adam was God’s son, each in the respective “image and likeness”? God is not just the Creator of human beings, he is their Father as well.


GUIDED EXERCISE A think / pair / share to determine the different occupations of three of Cain’s descendants: Jabal Jubal Tubal‑cain


FOCUS QUESTIONS Who were the sons of God? They were the descendants of Seth before having intermarried with Cain’s descendants. Who were the daughters of men? They were the descendants of Cain. Why did God shorten the lives of men? He punished men for their marital infidelity. Who were the Nephilim, or giants? They were wicked tyrants trying to make names for themselves. They were men of renown, meaning literally, “the men of Shem.”


CLOSURE Write a paragraph comparing the persons of Seth’s and Cain’s lines.


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTStudy Questions 17, 19–24, 26–32 (p. 81)Practical Exercises 4–5 (p. 82)Workbook Questions 27–55Read “The Flood” through the sidebar “The Real Tower of Babel” (pp. 56–61)


ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Free write for five minutes about the harm done to the descendants of Cain and Seth by the wounds of Original Sin.


A selection from St. Augustine’s City of God (XV, 25): The anger of God is not a disturbing emotion of His mind, but a judgment by which punishment is inflicted upon sin. His thought and reconsideration also are the unchangeable reason which changes things; for He does not, like man, repent of anything He has done, because in all matters His decision is as inflexible as His prescience is certain. But if Scripture were not to use such expressions as the above, it would not familiarly insinuate itself into the minds of all classes of men, whom it seeks access to for their good, that it may alarm the proud, arouse the careless, exercise the inquisitive, and satisfy the intelligent; and this it could not do, did it not first stoop, and in a manner descend, to them where they lie. But its denouncing death on all the animals of earth and air is a declaration of the vastness of the disaster that was approaching: not that it threatens destruction to the irrational animals as if they too had incurred it by sin. Discuss the terms “anger” and “repent” when attributed to God.

4. The Flood and the Tower of Babel (pp. 56–61)

GUIDED EXERCISE A think / pair / share using the following question: What was the state of the world by the time of Noah (cf. Gn 6:7)? GUIDED EXERCISE Lead a class discussion using the following questions: What would the world have been like without sin?How can you reduce sin in the world?


FOCUS QUESTIONS Why did God decide to start the human race over with Noah? The earth was full of violence except in Noah, who was the only “righteous man.” God decided to “blot out” all living creatures, having become “sorry” he had made them. What is the importance of the number seven in the story of Noah? Noah took seven pairs of each clean animal and seven pairs of each bird. Seven days after God shut the door of the ark, the Flood came. The number seven in Scripture symbolizes perfection. What is the importance of the number forty in Scripture? The number forty symbolizes trial and repentance. For example, the Deluge was fueled by water for forty days. Israel wandered for forty years in the desert. Christ fasted for forty days in the wilderness before his temptation.


FOCUS QUESTIONS Are the Israelites the only people with a flood story? No; similar stories are found in cultures all over the Middle East and Europe.Extension: There are similar stories found all over the world. What story might Abraham have brought with him from Ur? Ur was once destroyed by a great flood; he may have brought this story with him. What thesis is argued in the book Noah’s Flood? Noah’s Flood argues the various flood stories originated from an actual geological event that took place only a few thousand years ago. Because of the rise in sea level of the Mediterranean Sea due to melting glaciers, the Mediterranean broke through the Bosporus a few thousand years ago, turning a large, freshwater lake into the Black Sea, flooding whole towns in just a few days.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the parallel between the blessing God originally gave creation and the blessing he gave Noah and his family? In each blessing, God said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” What positive and negative features does a covenant contain? A covenant contains a blessing for abiding by it and a curse for breaking it. What is the significance of the rainbow in the covenant God made with Noah? The rainbow is the sign of the covenant and a promise God will never again destroy the inhabitants of the whole world by flood.


GUIDED EXERCISE A think / pair / share using the following question. After the Flood, why did God decide not to curse the ground any more because of man? GUIDED EXERCISE Complete a paragraph shrink on the paragraph “Christians see the Flood...” (p. 58).


FOCUS QUESTIONS What does the story of Gilgamesh prove? Gilgamesh proves a story of a worldwide flood was known all over the Middle East. What detail suggests the Epic of Gilgamesh contains a version of the same Flood presented in the Book of Genesis? Birds were sent out to see if the waters had receded. How is the biblical Flood profoundly different from the Epic of Gilgamesh? The biblical story is moral. The wickedness of men called forth the justice of the one true God, who saved Noah because of his righteousness.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the Table of Nations? Biblical scholars have given this name to the genealogies of the peoples that sprang from each of Noah’s sons. It is found in Chapter 10 of the Book of Genesis. What does it mean to make a name for oneself? The Hebrew word for name is shem, which is the name Noah gave his firstborn son. To make a name for oneself means to rebel against the covenant authority of Shem. What did Babylon symbolize for the Israelites? Babylon symbolized everything evil and decadent.


GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student read silently the Catechism, no. 57 (p. 60), and then discuss the following questions: Why did people want to unite at Babel?How does God want the unity of people to come about?What does it mean to say “the idolatry of the nation and of its rulers”?To what extent is making gods of one’s country and its rulers the story of the twentieth century?


FOCUS QUESTIONS What is a ziggurat? It is an artificial mountain representing the place the gods were thought to live. What did Mesopotamian mythology posit about the ziggurats? They existed before human beings were created. What is the likely relationship between the Tower of Babel and the Babylonian ziggurat? Many scholars believe they are one in the same.


CLOSURE Write a paragraph describing the Flood as a type of Baptism.


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

Study Questions 33–39 (p. 81)Practical Exercise 2 (p. 82)Workbook Questions 56–72 Read “Abraham, Our Father” through “3. The Binding of Isaac and God’s Third Oath” (pp. 62–68)


ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Building the Tower of Babel was possible because of the development of technology, namely, fired bricks and bitumen mortar. Work with a partner to brainstorm examples of the use of other technologies for wicked purposes. Briefly share responses.


ANTICIPATORY SET Read aloud Genesis 11:27—13:20, the narrative of Abram’s call. Whatever reason God had to have chosen Abram, it was not because he was already what we would call a saint. Discuss the following question: What imperfect values did Abram’s exemplify?

5. Abraham (pp. 62–68)

BASIC QUESTIONSWhat was God’s call to Abram?What three promises did God make to Abraham, and how were they fulfilled?How did Abram respond to God’s promises, and how did God respond to Abram’s faith?What was the outward sign of God’s covenant with Abraham and his male descendants?How is the sacrifice of Isaac a type of the Sacrifice of Christ?

KEY IDEASGod called Abram to leave his family and home when he was seventy‑five years old, and Abram obeyed.God promised Abram land, kingship, and a worldwide blessing, promises that would be fulfilled later in Moses, David, and Christ.Abram believed God’s promise, and God formed a covenant to give the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants.God made circumcision an outward sign of the covenant.The sacrifice of Isaac is a type of the Sacrifice of Christ.


FOCUS QUESTIONS

How old was Abram when his story began in the Book of Genesis? He was seventy‑five years old when he heard the call from God. What did God ask Abram to do? God told Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” According to the Catechism, no. 2570, how did Abraham express his prayer? Abraham was a man of silence whose prayer was expressed primarily by his obedience.


GUIDED EXERCISE CCC 2570: When God calls him, Abraham goes forth "as the Lord had told him"; Abraham's heart is entirely submissive to the Word and so he obeys. Such attentiveness of the heart, whose decisions are made according to God's will, is essential to prayer, while the words used count only in relation to it. Abraham's prayer is expressed first by deeds: a man of silence, he constructs an altar to the Lord at each stage of his journey. Only later does Abraham's first prayer in words appear: a veiled complaint reminding God of his promises which seem unfulfilled. Thus one aspect of the drama of prayer appears from the beginning: the test of faith in the fidelity of God.

Write paragraph responding to the following question: If God were to call me to leave my home and family and go to a different land, what would be my response?


FOCUS QUESTIONS What are some features of Abram’s home town? Ur was a large, cosmopolitan port city with a towering ziggurat. Abram’s family was most likely involved in what type of work? They were probably caravan traders who were used to making long journeys over land, grazing their cattle along the way. Who was Lot? Lot was Abraham’s nephew. He was raised by Abraham’s father, Terah, as his own son.


GRAPHIC ORGANIZER Complete the following table to organize the promises God made to Abram.



FOCUS QUESTIONS Why would God’s promise to Abram to give him a multitude of descendants have been hard to believe? Sarai was barren and beyond childbearing age. What did the idea of many descendants mean in the time of Abram? Having many children was considered the greatest possible blessing. What was Abram’s complaint to God? Despite God’s promise, Abram had no heir. Left this way, one of his slaves would have inherited all his wealth.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What did God promise Abram with respect to his heir and the number of his descendants? God told Abram his own son would be his heir and his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. What was Abram’s response to God’s promise? Abram “believed the Lord,” and the Lord reckoned it to Abram as righteousness. How did God make his promise to Abram? God promised in the context of the most solemn oath, sealed with animal sacrifice. Though Abram prepared the animals, God made the sacrifice himself by having the fire pot and flaming torch pass between the halves of the animals.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What did Sarai suggest Abraham do to ensure an heir? She urged him to obtain an heir through her servant Hagar, whose child, according to custom, Sarai could claim as her own. What made God’s next reminder of his promise of an heir seem even more impossible? It came thirteen years later, when Abraham was ninety‑nine years old. What was the external sign of the covenant God made with Abraham? It was circumcision.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What does the new name God gives to Sarai mean? Sarah means princess or queen. Why did God choose the name Isaac for Abraham and Sarah’s child? Isaac means he laughs or she laughs. Abraham and Sarah laughed when God promised Isaac since it seemed impossible. Though the promise seemed impossible, how did Abraham nevertheless behave? Abraham obeyed God and was circumcised.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What sacrifice did God ask of Abraham? God asked Abraham to offer his only son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. Why was this a difficult task for Abraham? Abraham had waited for many years for God’s promise to be fulfilled in Isaac, and now it seemed God was taking Isaac away. Did Abraham’s lie to Isaac, “God will provide himself the lamb for the burnt offering,” come true? Yes; the angel told him to offer the ram caught by its horns in the thicket.Extension: Isaac is a type of Christ, and God ultimately gave his own Son, the “Lamb of God,” for the Sacrifice.


GUIDED EXERCISE A think / pair / share on the paragraph “Sarah saw Ishmael...” (p. 66). Come up with two examples to demonstrate the following statement: In the Book of Genesis, breaking the marriage covenant resulted in jealousy and pain.


FOCUS QUESTIONS How do we know Isaac was not a little child when he was to be sacrificed? Isaac carried the wood for the offering. Why did Isaac not fight his father? Isaac was willing to cooperate with God’s plan. According to the Fourth Book of Maccabees, how did ancient Jewish readers view Isaac’s cooperation in his own sacrifice? The text reads, “Isaac would have submitted to being slain” for the sake of religion.


GUIDED EXERCISE A think / pair / share using the following question: What did Abraham likely think God would do for Isaac?


FOCUS QUESTIONS What is an ancillary lesson of the sacrifice of Isaac to the people of Israel? Though the peoples living around them practiced human sacrifice to their false gods, their one true God would never demand this. Were the promises God made to Abraham fulfilled immediately? No; they would not be fulfilled for many centuries. Through whom was the ultimate fulfillment of the promise that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through Abraham? This promise was ultimately fulfilled through Abraham’s descendant Jesus Christ.


CLOSURE Using the chart on page 68, write a paragraph about the sacrifice of Isaac as a type of the Sacrifice of Christ.


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 40–52 (p. 81)Practical Exercises 6–7 (pp. 82– 83)Workbook Questions 73–93Read “Finding a Wife for Isaac” through “Jacob and Laban” (pp. 69–72)


ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT God brought the creatures before Adam to name them. God often changed the name of a person when he gave him or her a new vocation. A member of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church often takes a new name at Confirmation. Choose any five Old Testament persons and brainstorm a new name in English for each based on his or her life and character. In one sentence, explain why each name was chosen.


ANTICIPATORY SET Read Genesis 28:10–15.

What is Jacob’s ladder?

According to a note in the St. Joseph Edition of the New American Bible, ladder is actually a mistranslation for a ziggurat with steps leading up to a Temple where God dwells.

6. Isaac, Jacob, Esau, and Laban (pp. 69–72)

FOCUS QUESTIONS Why did Abraham want Isaac to avoid marrying a Canaanite woman? He was afraid Isaac and his descendants would become idolaters, worshiping the false gods of the Canaanites. Why are many of the most important women in the Bible found at a well? Wells were important gathering places, especially for women, as the source of water for a community. How was the choice of Isaac’s wife the result of prayer? Abraham’s servant asked God to show him the maiden he should find for Isaac by having her give him a drink and then offer to draw water for his camels as well.


GUIDED EXERCISE Describe your relationships with your older or younger siblings. Discuss ways siblings can reduce or eliminate discord.


GRAPHIC ORGANIZER Complete the following table to show the connection between the covenant promises God made to Abraham and those he made Jacob.



FOCUS QUESTIONS Why did Esau give up his birthright? He was hungry, and Jacob offered to give him bread and lentil soup in exchange for his birthright. Extension: In common English parlance, Esau “sold his birthright for a mess of pottage.” What did Esau give up? He gave up the right to become head of the family after his father and a double share of the inheritance. How did Jacob trick his father into giving him Esau’s blessing? He dressed in Esau’s clothing and wore goatskin to simulate Esau’s hairy hands.


GUIDED EXERCISE Conduct a think / pair / share using the following question: Why did Abraham’s servant think it good the maiden he met not only gave him water to drink but also offered to draw water for his camels?


FOCUS QUESTIONS What blessing did Jacob receive from Isaac? Isaac handed on the covenant God made with Abraham. What was Isaac’s reaction to the deception? Isaac was shaken and “trembled violently,” but he maintained the blessing stood. How was Esau’s prophecy fulfilled? The nation Esau founded, the Edomites, came under the yoke of Israel but eventually broke free.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What was the usual result of polygamy in the Bible? It almost always led to misfortune and misery. Jacob loved Rachel, but it seemed she was barren. Leah was hurt because Jacob loved Rachel more than her. Rachel was jealous because Leah bore Jacob four sons. Who named Jacob’s sons? Each was named by his mother. How many mothers did Jacob’s children have? They had four: Leah, Rachel’s maid, Leah’s maid, and finally Rachel.


FOCUS QUESTIONS How did Jacob outsmart Laban and grow rich? Jacob and Laban agreed Jacob would get the spotted animals and Laban would get the solid ones. Jacob selectively bred the animals so more spotted animals would be born. Why did Jacob return to Canaan? He had a dream in which an angel told him God wanted him to return to the land of his birth. What problem did Jacob face in Canaan? He had to face his brother Esau, who had been furious with him when he had fled twenty years earlier.


GUIDED EXERCISE Write a paragraph about Laban having given Jacob a taste of his own medicine.


CLOSURE Free write for five minutes about how, from a human point of view, deception played an important part in Jacob becoming the patriarch of Israel.


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 53–60 (pp. 81–82)Practical Exercises 8–9 (p. 83)Workbook Questions 94–112Read “Twelve Sons” through “God Turns Evil into an Instrument of Salvation” (pp. 73–77)


ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Review the promises of the covenant between God and Abraham: land, dynasty, and universal blessing through his descendants. Conduct a think / pair / share using the following question: What was the status of the fulfillment of Abraham’s covenant upon the death of Isaac?


ANTICIPATORY SET Read aloud the passage from Genesis about Joseph’s two dreams and his family’s reactions (cf. Gn 37:1–11).

7. The Sons of Israel (pp. 73–77)

BASIC QUESTIONSWhat is the significance of the name Israel?Why did Joseph’s brothers hate him?How did God bring good out of the evil Joseph’s brothers did?

KEY IDEASHe who strives with God is an apt description of Jacob himself and the history of the nation he founded.Joseph’s brothers hated him out of envy and sold him into slavery.God made it possible for Joseph’s slavery to be the cause of Israel’s survival during famine; Joseph’s brothers did evil to him, but God guided events so they turned out unexpectedly well.


GUIDED EXERCISE Large families are not as prevalent in the modern Western world as in the past. Discuss your thoughts on family size using the following questions: What experiences have you had with large families?Is there a perfect family size? What sacrifices do large families require?Does faith in God play a part in the size of a family?What obligations flow out of being a member of a family?


GRAPHIC ORGANIZER Complete the following table to organize the meanings of the blessings God gave Adam, Noah, and Jacob (Israel): “Be fruitful and multiply.”



GUIDED EXERCISE Free write for five minutes about the extent to which Jacob can be called a saintly man. GUIDED EXERCISE Conduct a focused reading of the Catechism, no. 2573, using the following question: How is prayer like a wrestling match with God?


FOCUS QUESTIONS What did Jacob fear from Esau? Jacob feared for his life and the lives of his wives and sons; he had received word Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred armed men. What blessing did the angel, with whom Jacob had wrestled, give Jacob? He gave Jacob a new name, Israel, which means he who strives with God. What is the significance of being given a new name? It is like being created anew.


GUIDED EXERCISE How would you react if you were treated in the same manner as Joseph? Brainstorm reasons forgiveness can be so difficult. The following is for your eyes only: Write about an experience that has left you unwilling to forgive.Discuss successful approaches when you have given or sought forgiveness. GUIDED EXERCISE A focused reading of the paragraph “God had managed...” (p. 76) using the following question: How is Joseph a type of Christ?


CLOSURE Write a paragraph about Joseph as a rejected savior of Israel and, thus, a type of Christ.


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

Study Questions 61–66 (p. 82)Practical Exercise 10 (p. 83)Workbook Questions 113–133


ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Discuss the name Israel using these questions: Though Israel was the name given to Jacob, it came to be applied to his descendants.How is Israel just as much an apt description of the history of his descendants, even through the ages?How have people striven with, or fought against, God from the beginning?Why do you think God does not use his superior power to win such fights?


The End

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Chapter 2: In the Beginning