Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & His 12 Sons
Now we will get into the Bible stories that relate to the covenants that God made with man.
The Prophet Adam taught Mankind that God is Invisible
Adam was an Independent Prophet of God, and the first man to become “God-conscious,” or conscious of the existence of an invisible God. Adam was also the first man to think in the abstract. By the time Adam appeared, man was capable of beginning to think in the abstract, so God sent the Prophet Adam to teach them about an invisible God. Prior to the coming of Adam, man had not yet been taught the concept of an invisible God. The people Adam taught were called Sabeans. After being taught by Adam, these people chose to turn away from God. God regretted what he saw among men: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil continually [man was corrupted by others who didn’t worship God]. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the ground, man and beast and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” (Genesis 6:5-8)
God makes a Covenant with Noah and his descendants
The next story in the Bible is the of story of Noah and the flood, where it rains upon the earth for forty days and nights, and Noah survives the flood because God had commanded him to construct a great ark for that very purpose. After the flood, God promised that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood. He even went so far as to make this a covenant with Noah. This is the first time the concept of a covenant between God and man is mentioned in the Bible: “Then God said to Noah and to his Sons with him, ‘Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth’” (Genesis 9:8-11). This covenant was a promise that “never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth” (Genesis 8:21). It was also a blessing upon Noah and his descendants that they would multiply and fill the earth: “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.’” (Genesis 9:1)“The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the Sons of Noah; and from these the whole earth was peopled.” (Genesis 9:18-19) Noah then cursed Ham by cursing his son named Canaan. Ham “saw the nakedness of his father,” meaning he chose to look upon Noah’s defects and use that as an excuse to turn away from the teachings about God that Noah taught: “Noah was the first tiller of the soil. He planted a vineyard; and he drank of the wine, and became drunk, and lay uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside…. When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son [Ham] had done to him, he said, ‘Cursed be Canaan; a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers….’” (Genesis 9:20-25) While on the one hand, Noah cursed Ham’s son Canaan, on the other, he blessed his other two sons, Shem and Japheth: “He also said, ‘Blessed by the Lord my God be Shem, and let Canaan be his slave. God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem; let Canaan be his slave.’” (Gen. 9:26-27)
Thus Shem received the greatest blessing. The curse on Canaan was later fulfilled when God gave the land of Canaan to the descendants of Shem. The descendants of Shem wound up displacing the descendants of Canaan in the land of Canaan, which later became known as Israel.
God Makes a Two-part Covenant with Abraham and His Descendants
Noah’s son Shem was a highly spiritual man who lived an extremely long life. One of Shem’s descendants was Abraham. There were ten generations between Noah and Abraham. Abraham’s given name was Abram, and God later changed it to Abraham. God made a strong covenant with Abraham: “No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” (Gen. 17:5-8) So God made a covenant with Abraham, just as he had made a covenant with Noah. Abraham was getting old and he still had no children, so he wondered how God’s promise could come true: “And Abram said, ‘Behold, thou hast given me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir.’ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, ‘This man shall not be your heir; your own son shall be your heir.’ And he brought him outside and said, ‘Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.” (Gen. 15:3-6)
Abraham’s Son Isaac Inherits Both Parts of the Covenant
Abraham then had one son named Ishmael by his second wife Hagar: “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar; and Sarai said to Abram, ‘Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my maid; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.’ And Abram harkened to the voice of Sarai.”(Gen. 16:1-2) Later God changed Sarai’s name to Sarah, and blessed her and gave her a son in her old age: “And God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai you wife, you shall not call he name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.’” (Gen, 17:15-16)
Yet Abraham still prayed for his son Ishmael to find favor in the Lord’s sight; But God said: “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will, make him a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.” (Gen. 17:19-21) The Prophet Muhammad later descended from Ishmael, and the great nation of Islam and the twelve Imams fulfilled this promise to Abraham that his son Ishmael would also receive a blessing. Muhammad taught that prior to becoming a Muslim, people must become Christians. This is because the Prophet Muhammad was setting up the Muslims to be protectors of the blessed lineage of kings that would come forth from Abraham’s descendants through his other son Isaac. Indeed, the Imams did later protect the Davidic Kings after conquering the Persians. The Davidic Kings had been in captivity under the Persians, and when the Muslims conquered the Persians, they converted the king on the throne of David and he believed the Prophet Muhammad was a true Prophet from God. The Imams then provided the descendants of David with a safe sanctuary in northeastern Iran, in an ancient mountainous region that had long been held as a fortress of protection by the Zoroastrian Persians. To return to the subject, although Abraham’s son Ishmael received a blessing, both parts of the covenant were passed along to Abraham’s other son Isaac, who was from Abraham’s blessed wife Sarah.
Isaac’s son Jacob Inherits the Both Parts of the Covenant
Isaac had twin boys named Esau and Jacob. Normally the eldest son has the first rights to inheritance, but in this case Jacob, the younger of the two brothers, inherited the birthright.
“These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he took to wife Rebekah…. And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The children struggled together within her; and she said, ‘If it is thus, why do I live?’ So she went to inquire of the Lord. And, the Lord said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples, born of you, shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger.’ When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came forth red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came forth, and his hand had taken hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob.” (Gen. 25:19-26) “Esau, the first-born son, had the right to inherit the blessing or covenant that had been made with his forefathers Abraham and Isaac. But he sold this birthright to his younger brother Jacob for a mere cup of soup.” (Gen. 25:33). When their father Isaac was old and about to die, Jacob and his mother Rebekeh figured out a way to trick Isaac into thinking Jacob was Esau, so Isaac would give Esau’s birthright to Jacob (see Gen. 27). “Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, ‘You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women…. God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your descendants with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings which God gave to Abraham!’”
(Gen. 28:1-4)
Jacob had a total of twelve sons. Jacob was in love with and wanted to marry a woman named Rachel, who was the younger daughter of a man named Laban. Jacob served Laban for seven years so he could marry Rachel (Gen. 29:18). Then, instead of allowing Jacob to marry Rachel, Laban allowed him to marry Leah, Rachel’s older sister, saying the older daughter must marry first. Jacob then had to serve another seven years before he was allowed to marry Rachel (Gen. 29:16-30). Leah had six sons: Reubari, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. Leah also gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob as a wife, and she bore Jacob two more sons named Gad and Asher. Rachel was barren at first, so she gave her maid Bilhah to Jacob. Bilah bore Jacob two sons named Dan and Naphtali. Finally the Lord “remembered Rachel” and opened her womb, and she bore Jacob one son named Joseph. When Rachel bore Joseph she said, “May the Lord add to me another son!” (Gen. 30:24). For a long time however, Joseph was Jacob’s youngest and favorite son, borne of his most beloved wife, Rachel. Joseph’s brothers were jealous of the love that Jacob had for Joseph. Finally, Rachel bore Jacob one last son: “Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor. And when she was in her hard labor, the midwife said to her, ‘Fear not; for now you will have another son.’ And as her soul was departing (for she died), she called his name Benoni; but his father called his name Benjamin.” (Gen. 35:16-18) “And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So his name was called Israel, and God said to him, ‘I am God almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall spring from you. The land which gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.’” (Gen. 35:10-12) Before Benjamin was born, Joseph’s older brothers betrayed him due to their jealousy of him, and sold him into slavery (Gen. 37:28). Joseph was taken into Egypt and made a slave: “Jacob dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. This is the history of the family of Jacob.
“Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flocks with his brother; he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father wives; and Joseph brought an ill report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a long robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. “Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they only hated him the more. He said to them, ‘Hear this dream which I have dreamed: behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf arose and stood upright; and behold, your sheaves gathered round it, and bowed down to my sheaf.’ His brothers said to him, ‘Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to have dominion over us?’ So they hated him yet more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed another dream; and told it to his brothers, and said, ‘Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.’ But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, ‘What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?’ And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. “Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.’ “So Joseph’s father sent Joseph off to find his brothers and Joseph got word that they had gone to Dothan: “So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild beast has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.’ But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” And Reuben said to them, ‘Shed no blood; cast him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him’ - that he might rescue him out of their hand, to restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and cast him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. “Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Israelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it own to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.’ Midianite traders passed by; and they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver, and they took Joseph to Egypt.”
(Gen. 37:17-28) The brothers then took Joseph’s robe, killed a goat and dipped the sleeve of the robe in the goat’s blood, and delivered the robe to Jacob: “’This we have found; see now whether it is your son’s robe or not.’ And he recognized it, and said, ‘It is my son’s robe; a wild beast has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.’ Then Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and said, ‘No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.’ Thus his father wept for him. Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.” (Gen. 37:32-36)
Joseph eventually became prominent in the land of Egypt because he interpreted the Egyptian Pharaoh’s dream: “And the Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; and I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it….’ Joseph answered Pharaoh, ‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.’” (Gen. 41:15-16) “So the Pharaoh told Joseph his dream, and Joseph interpreted it. Joseph said the next seven years would be plenteous years, and the seven years after that would be years of famine. Joseph said the Pharaoh should appoint an overseer over the land, and the overseer should take a fifth part of the produce of the land and save it during the next seven years, so there would be food available during the famine. So the Pharaoh appointed Joseph as the overseer: “And the Pharaoh said to his servants, ‘Can we find such a man as this, in whom is the Spirit of God?’ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you are; you shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.’” (Gen. 41:38-40) So the Pharaoh took his signet ring and gave it to Joseph, and gave him a daughter of a priest to marry. The seven years of plenty came and went, and Joseph had two sons. Then the years of famine came: “When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, ‘Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do.’ So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth. “When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, ‘Why do you look at one another?’ And he said, ‘Behold, I have heard that there in grain in Egypt; go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live, and not die.’ So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might befall him. Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.” (Gen. 41:55-57 & 42:1-5) When Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them because he had had dreams of them. But he pretended they were strangers, and his brothers did not recognize him. Joseph wanted to see his younger brother Benjamin, so he came up with a plan to trick his brothers into bringing Benjamin down to Egypt so he could see him. He accused his brothers of being spies, and said he wanted one of them to go get their youngest brother from the land of Canaan so he could verify their identity.
Then he put the brothers in prison and after three days they sent one brother to Canaan and the rest of the brothers spoke regrets about what they had done to Joseph long ago. They thought perhaps this bad fortune had fallen upon them in Egypt due to what they had done to Joseph. Joseph could interpret what they were saying and he had compassion on his brothers. So he took one brother, Simeon, and imprisoned him while he let the rest of the brothers go, along with free provisions for the land of Canaan. When the brothers returned to Canaan they told their father about the trip and how Simeon was still imprisoned there. Judah volunteered to take Benjamin down to Egypt to testify that the brothers had not been spies. When Joseph saw Benjamin coming he prepared a feast. When he first saw his younger brother Benjamin, he sought a place to hide and he wept. He gave Benjamin five times as much food as he gave the brothers. Joseph then demanded that they leave their youngest brother with him as a slave, but they begged that he not require them to do that, for they said if they were to return to Canaan without their younger brother, surely their father would die from heartbreak, as their father loved Benjamin. Then Joseph wept before his brothers and made it known to them who he really was. When the Pharaoh of Egypt heard this story he bid the brothers from Canaan to move their wives, children and their father to Egypt, at Egypt’s expense. Then the Pharaoh promised he would provide the best of what the land of Egypt had to offer, in order that Joseph’s family might be comfortable there. When Israel [Jacob] heard the story of his son Joseph being alive, he did not believe it. But seeing the vast provisions sent up from Egypt by Joseph, his spirit was revived, and he went to offer sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac: “And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night, and said, ‘Jacob, Jacob.’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’ Then he said, ‘I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again; and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.’” (Gen. 46:2-4) Joseph was thus able to help his brothers who had previously abused his rights and sold him into slavery.