We Believe: Chapter 5
The Students will learn:
The patriarchs are our ancestors in faith.
God chose Abraham to be the father of his people.
God's people became known as the Israelites.
God cared for the Israelites.
Faith Words
patriarch - a father, or founder, of a clan, a group of related families.
Canaan - an area in western Palestine that included most of present-day Israel. It was made up of small city-states.
faith - a gift from God that enables us to believe in him and accept all that he has revealed.
providence - God's plan for and protection of all creation.
pharaoh - the king or queen of Egypt
Facts:
The four Old Testament patriarchs are:
Abraham - the most important of the Old Testament model of faith. he trusted completely in God's will when asked to do something difficult.
Isaac - He had twin sons, which caused a problem of who would inherit his father's position.
Jacob - His story is one of conflict because of his twin brother. He inherited his birthright through determination.
Joseph - In his story, providence was symbolized by the fulfillment of dreams which indicated God's plan.
The patriarchs are our ancestors in faith.
Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah were important women in God's family. They were called matriarchs.
These ancestors in faith are a good example of reliance on God during our own journey through life.
In Genesis we read that God decided to form a people for himself.
He called Abram and Sarai to travel to Canaan.
They were tested by God many times and went through many difficult situations.
The biblical writer shows us that, even though they were chosen by God, they still struggled like all humans to keep their faith in God.
He changed their names to Abraham and Sarah to indicate that they were beginning a new life.
God rewarded them by sending them a son, Isaac.
Abraham was tested by God again by asking him to sacrifice Isaac.
Abraham followed God's orders, but God stopped him before he made the sacrifice.
When Abraham died, his son Isaac inherited his father' s position as patriarch of the family.
Isaac had two sons - Jacob and Esau.
Jacob was the younger brother, but he tricked his brother and father to give him Esau's birthright - becoming the patriarch.
Jacob had to flee to Haran to avoid the wrath of his brother.
Though life in Haran was marked by constant conflict, Jacob prospered.
This was the biblical writer's way of telling us that God's people were blessed and that they would continue to grow in number.
In Genesis we can read that God renewed his covenant with Jacob.
He also changed Jacob's name to Israel.
God's people were now called Israelites.
Jacob had 12 sons, the youngest of whom was Joseph.
His brothers hated Joseph because their father, Jacob, loved him so much.
They sold Joseph to a passing slave merchant, who then sold him to the chief steward of the pharaoh.
Joseph did well at first, but was later thrown in prison, where he started to have dreams.
The pharaoh, who also had strange dreams, asked Joseph to interpret them.
Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of the management of his kingdom because he helped prepare it to survive a famine.
Joseph's family was struggling during the famine so they came to Egypt to buy grain.
His brothers did not recognize him at first, but Joseph invited his whole family to move to Egypt.
God's people found a temporary home in Egypt.
Joseph played a part in God's plan to provide a temporary home for his people by:
Interpreting pharaoh's dreams.
Helping prepare for famine.
Becoming the manager of the entire kingdom.
Inviting his family to move to Egypt during the famine.