Genesis 12:1-8

Genesis 12 follows God's creation of a good creation, a creation that becomes less than it is due to sin, sin that leads to the fragmentation of humanity and the disintegration of creation itself. As God spoke to create, God again speaks to render God's word intelligible to us.

vv. 1-3: Do you find any "if . . . then" structure to the passage? Read the passage very carefully. What exactly does God command Abram? What is the terms of the promise? Who will have failed if these promises don't come true?

vv. 4-8: Does Abram head out to "the land that I will show you"? How well does Abram obey God's commands? How does God respond? What does this tell you about God? What does this free Abram to do?

John 3:1-17

This dialogue is hard to read because puns and double meanings fly throughout the passage. For instance, Nicodemus (and we often) misunderstand Jesus when he says, "You must be born from above." The Greek phrase is ambiguous, and can mean "again" as well as "above." The fact that Nicodemus doesn't "get it" is a very important part of the dialogue.

Yet Nicodemus is a leader of the Jews, heir to the promise to Abram.

Read just the sections of the passage that either describe Nicodemus' actions or sayings? Then do the same for Jesus'? What do you notice about the two characters?

What could it be that keeps Nicodemus from "receiving" Jesus' testimony? How does Jesus respond?

The allusion to Moses and snakes in the wilderness is an allusion to Numbers 21. Read this passage. How does it help to understand Jesus' teaching?