Sibling Relationships

Sibling Relationships (Gen. 27:41, 32:3-5, 9-11, 33:1-5, 10-11) Siblings often know each others true character, strengths, weaknesses, secrets. Well all else is said and done, your sibling is still your sibling. • •

He who brings trouble on his family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise.(Prov. 11:29) Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. (1 John 2:9-11)

Seek healing from God Humble Prayer Trust = Act/Go Confession (Acknowledgment)/Repentance (Apology)/Restitution precedes forgiveness/grace Time Change Reflection Maturity Fester Honestly acknowledge own failings, selfishness, responsibility Both Jacob & Esau had All make mistakes Can’t change the past Must overcome “baggage” Takes moral courage Can move others Respect Esau Disappointment Satam - hate, oppose, cherish resentment, hold a grudge (Same word used to described Joseph’s Brothers in Gen. 50:15) Determined in his heart - Foothold for evil (But must have voiced, see 27:42, hence Rebekah’s warning) Cancer/Acid Why change of heart? (Gifts? Self-reflection?) Sincere? (Why want to leave men with? Jacob not go with, falsely said would go to Seir) Edom (not allow passage, cursed, enslaved, killed, cut off forever)

Other Siblings Cain, Abel

Joseph & His Brothers Martha & Mary David’s Sons 1. After Cain killed Abel, Adam and Eve had a third son. Who was this "other" brother? 2. Seeing the huge crowd following Jesus, his brothers came to take charge of him, saying, "He is out of his mind." Which two brothers later became leaders of the early church and authors of New Testament books? 3. Of the three brothers on Noah's ark, which one fathered the Israelites and was the ancestor of Jesus Christ? 4. Jesus' description of these two brothers, who were also business partners, was "The Sons of Thunder." Who were they? 5. Two brothers, Nahor and Haran, had a much more famous biblical brother, who raised Haran's son after Haran died, and sent a messenger to Nahor's household when he needed a bride for his son. Who is the famous third brother? 6. When Andrew learned that the promised Messiah had come, the first thing he did was find his brother and bring him to Jesus. Who was Andrew's brother? 7. Moses' older sister tenderly watched over him as a baby. His brother accompanied him to Pharaoh's palace. But later these siblings spoke against Moses. Who were they? Answers 1. Seth (Gen. 4:25). Seth's descendants called on the name of the Lord and became the ancestors of Christ (Luke 3:38), while those who deny Jesus as Lord "have taken the way of Cain" (Jude 1: 4, 11)—cursed for his crime. 2. James and Jude (Mark 3:21). Mark 6:3 names four brothers: James, Joseph, Judas (Jude), and Simon. James led the Jerusalem council (Acts 15) and authored the book of James (the disciple James had been martyred). The author of Jude calls himself "a brother of Jesus." 3. Shem (Gen. 9 and 10). Abraham and Jesus trace their lineage from Shem. The term "anti-Semitism," meaning "hostility toward Jews," comes from the name Shemites. God blessed Shem for covering his father's nakedness in love (1 Pet. 4:8), making it clear that blessings come from honoring our parents (Eph. 6:2-3). 4. James and John (Mark 3:17). These impulsive sons of Zebedee were, with Peter, the disciples closest to Jesus. James was the first of the Twelve to be martyred by King Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:2) about a.d. 43. John wrote the Gospel, three epistles, and the book of Revelation. 5. Abram (Abraham) (Gen. 11:27-31; 24). Haran had died before Abram and Nahor left Ur of the Chaldeans, so Abram became the guardian of Haran's son, Lot. Nahor settled in Aram, while Abram and Lot went on to the Promised Land. Later, Abraham (Abram) sent his servant to Nahor's family to find a wife for Isaac. 6. (Simon) Peter (John 1:35-44). A fisherman, Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist until he met Jesus. Simon, renamed Peter by Jesus (Matt. 16:18), became a leader of the early church and authored 1 and 2 Peter. 7. Aaron and Miriam (Num. 12:1-15). Miriam guarded baby Moses in the Nile and sang victory songs with him at the Red Sea. Aaron served as Moses' spokesman to Pharaoh and held his hands up in battle. When the two spoke against Moses, however, God punished Miriam with leprosy, restoring her after the brothers prayed. What have been/are your sibling relationships like?