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Failure and Restoration
Failure Happens
In our fallen world many are haunted by past failures and tortured by the consciousness of sin, feeling condemned and disqualified from service to God. In this study we will look at biblical examples of failure as well as encouragement from Scripture that the down-hearted can find renewed hope in the knowledge of God's forgiveness and acceptance. God is in the business of binding up wounds, of seeking the lost, and of restoring the years the locusts have eaten.
The first person we will read about is Abraham (Abram).
Read Genesis 12:1-9 and 15:1-21 before answering the following questions.
1) Describe what we learn from this passage about Abram's relationship with God.
2) What problem does Abram present to the Lord?
3) God meets Abram's problem with a promise. Use phrases from this passage to describe what God would told Abram he would do. (Include verse references.)
4) Here is Abram, the man of faith, who in all the world had a unique relationship with the Living God. Abram believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, yet Abram was soon to attempt to bring about the promises of God by his own wisdom. Read Genesis 16 and describe the actions taken by Abram and Sarai.
5) Why do you think they did this?
6) How do you think they might have justified this action? (Keep in mind that this was a common practice in Abram's day.)
7) What fruit did this action bear. Including verse references, give examples from chapter 16.
8) It seems that when Abram grew impatient of waiting on the Lord he began to question God's promise. If Abram had inquired of the Lord, God might have explained to him that Sarai, his wife, would bear the child of promise. Instead of turning to God in prayer, however, Abram took matters into his own hands. Though his actions bore bad fruit, he was not disqualified from obtaining the promise of God. In the very next chapter (17) we come to a high point in the patriarch's life. In your own words describe what happened when God appeared to Abram.
To read about the fulfillment of the promise of a son, see Genesis 21:1-6. God first promised Abraham a nation when he was seventy-five years old. Abraham did not see his promised son until he was 99. Perhaps you too have taken matters into your own hands instead of letting God guide you. Or perhaps you've disregarded his word and chosen your own path. Jesus fulfills God's promise to Abram and it is while we were still sinners that Christ died for us. Through faith in him we participate in the New Covenant where we receive an abundance of forgiveness.
9) Read Hebrews 11:8-10. How does the Lord describe Abraham through this passage of his word?
10) What encouragement have you gained from God's dealings with Abraham, a man who had the same sins and weakness we have, yet by God's grace received his promise?
Weightier than our sin is Christ's work on our behalf. As we put our faith in Jesus, we can forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. We can be confident of good things because all the promises of God find their Yes in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20).
Copyright © 2007, Carol Duffy. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Failure and Restoration
Failure Happens
In our fallen world many are haunted by past failures and tortured by the consciousness of sin, feeling condemned and disqualified from service to God. In this study we will look at biblical examples of failure as well as encouragement from Scripture that the down-hearted can find renewed hope in the knowledge of God's forgiveness and acceptance. God is in the business of binding up wounds, of seeking the lost, and of restoring the years the locusts have eaten.
The first person we will read about is Abraham (Abram).
Read Genesis 12:1-9 and 15:1-21 before answering the following questions.
1) Describe what we learn from this passage about Abram's relationship with God.
2) What problem does Abram present to the Lord?
3) God meets Abram's problem with a promise. Use phrases from this passage to describe what God would told Abram he would do. (Include verse references.)
4) Here is Abram, the man of faith, who in all the world had a unique relationship with the Living God. Abram believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, yet Abram was soon to attempt to bring about the promises of God by his own wisdom. Read Genesis 16 and describe the actions taken by Abram and Sarai.
5) Why do you think they did this?
6) How do you think they might have justified this action? (Keep in mind that this was a common practice in Abram's day.)
7) What fruit did this action bear. Including verse references, give examples from chapter 16.
8) It seems that when Abram grew impatient of waiting on the Lord he began to question God's promise. If Abram had inquired of the Lord, God might have explained to him that Sarai, his wife, would bear the child of promise. Instead of turning to God in prayer, however, Abram took matters into his own hands. Though his actions bore bad fruit, he was not disqualified from obtaining the promise of God. In the very next chapter (17) we come to a high point in the patriarch's life. In your own words describe what happened when God appeared to Abram.
To read about the fulfillment of the promise of a son, see Genesis 21:1-6. God first promised Abraham a nation when he was seventy-five years old. Abraham did not see his promised son until he was 99. Perhaps you too have taken matters into your own hands instead of letting God guide you. Or perhaps you've disregarded his word and chosen your own path. Jesus fulfills God's promise to Abram and it is while we were still sinners that Christ died for us. Through faith in him we participate in the New Covenant where we receive an abundance of forgiveness.
9) Read Hebrews 11:8-10. How does the Lord describe Abraham through this passage of his word?
10) What encouragement have you gained from God's dealings with Abraham, a man who had the same sins and weakness we have, yet by God's grace received his promise?
Weightier than our sin is Christ's work on our behalf. As we put our faith in Jesus, we can forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. We can be confident of good things because all the promises of God find their Yes in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20).
Copyright © 2007, Carol Duffy. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.