Genesis
Foundation Book of the Bible
The Seed of Promise
Teaching Strategy
The focus of this lesson is to identify and trace the lineage of those who will eventually deliver the Seed of Promise to mankind. Of special note in this lesson is the faithfulness of God to continue with His promise of a redeemer.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Know: Understand the love God has for His creation as shown through His faithfulness to His promise of a redeemer.
- Feel: Appreciate God’s faithfulness.
- Do: Use the information of God’s faithfulness to build the virtue of faithfulness in our lives.
Body of the Lesson
Discussion Questions
Below are suggested questions to use during the guided discussion portion of the lesson. There are also suggested responses to questions to help students grasp the various concepts. These are provided to assist the discussion and are not considered as "right or wrong" responses.
God promised that from the seed of man, specifically through Eve that one day a deliverer would be born Who would defeat Satan and redeem man. With the death of Abel and the banishment of Cain, it seemed like no suitable person remained to maintain the hope. God gave Seth as an answer. This shows that in spite of Satan's worst efforts, God's will was not thwarted.
Note: Satan is powerful and has many tools to use against God, through us. However, never forget that Satan is a created being and is therefore not more powerful than God. Yes, he is more powerful than we are, however, this is why we put our faith in God.
This promise was eventually fulfilled in Jesus. In Him we now have the hope that was lost in sin. To God be the glory for His love and faithfulness to us!
With Seth a renewal of both faith and worship of God was experienced in that ancient society.
This shows how God continued to maintain His guidance for bringing about a redeemer, as promised. By having the details of names, dates and events, we can verify history. This provides further proof of the truth of the writer's words.
Walking with God means we are faithful to His will. The result was that Enoch did not die (Geneses 5:21-24).
The implication is that as we walk with God, we too will be rewarded by God. We may die physically, but our soul will be with God for eternity.
A mark of spiritual maturity is when we realize and accept that God is faithful to His promise of redeeming us.
Enoch and Elijah did not suffer physical death. This is perhaps pointing to Jesus who, although physically died, was resurrected from the dead. Enoch and Elijah were not the promised redeemer, but they were faithful to their role as prophets of God and in their direct accent to heaven pointed to the fact that Jesus, also, would ascend to heaven.
Yet again we see God making provision for the promised redeemer. Although, as Genesis describes it, every thought of man was evil, God saw the faithfulness of Noah and blessed him for it. The blessing was saving Noah and his family so that mankind would continue, and the promise of God would be fulfilled.
God is faithful to His word. He promises to redeem those faithful to Him. We can trust that promise because we see throughout man's history as recorded in scripture that God kept His promise. Sometimes it seemed dark and hopeless, that Satan was winning. No greater example of perceived hopelessness and Satan's victory than the dark hour of the death of Jesus. Yet even in this, God's plan was being fulfilled. A sacrifice for sin was required. Jesus not only became the sacrifice, but the gateway to salvation. Without the death and His resurrection, we would have no hope of redemption.