The Mayfield Class

1. In Genesis 33:1–4, Jacob approaches Esau with dread, bowing seven times, but Esau runs to embrace him. Where have you feared a relational encounter, only to find God had already gone ahead of you? How does this encourage you to trust God with the conversations you dread?
2. Jacob’s repentance is visible in his posture, not just his words. Where is God calling you to show repentance through action rather than speech? What would “bowing low” look like in your own relationships?
3. In Genesis 33:5–11, Jacob repeatedly says that God has dealt graciously with him. Where do you need to acknowledge God’s grace instead of rehearsing your own efforts or strategies? How does gratitude reshape the way you relate to others?
4. Jacob gives back the blessing he once stole, offering restitution freely. Where might God be calling you to make something right, not out of guilt but out of grace? What step of restoration would reflect God’s work in your life?
5. In Genesis 33:12–17, Jacob chooses the right direction but uses a shaded answer to avoid going to Seir. Where are you tempted to use partial truth instead of full obedience? What would it look like to answer honestly and trust God with the outcome?
6. In Genesis 33:18–20, Jacob stops one day short of Bethel and builds an altar at the wrong address. Where have you stopped short of what God has clearly called you to do? How can you take the next step toward full obedience rather than settling for almost obedience?

1. In Genesis 32:1–2, Jacob sees the angels of God at Mahanaim, a second camp he did not build. Where has God met you “on the way,” providing reassurance only after you stepped into something uncertain? How does this strengthen your trust in His presence?
2. In Genesis 32:6–8, Jacob panics at the news of Esau’s approach and immediately begins strategizing. Where do you tend to build your own “two camps,” relying on your plans instead of God’s promises? What does this reveal about your fear?
3. In Genesis 32:9–12, Jacob prays for the first recorded time in Scripture, confessing his unworthiness and anchoring his fear between God’s promises. Where do you need to pray like Jacob prayed, honestly naming your fear and surrounding it with God’s Word?
4. In Genesis 32:13–21, Jacob sends gifts to Esau, treating his brother like God, hoping to appease him. Where are you tempted to negotiate your way out of guilt or conflict instead of seeking true reconciliation? What would obedience look like instead?
5. In Genesis 32:24–28, Jacob wrestles with God, is broken, and receives a new name. Where is God wrestling you right now, pressing on an area of self‑reliance or pride? What truth do you need to confess so God can bless you?
6. In Genesis 32:30–31, Jacob sees God face to face and walks away limping. What “limp” has God given you, such as a scar, a weakness, or a reminder, that keeps you dependent on Him? How can you see that limp as grace rather than loss?

1. In Genesis 31:1–3, Jacob sees danger rising in Laban’s household, but God calls him home with the promise, “I will be with you.” Where is God calling you into something uncertain right now? How does His promise of presence steady you when the path ahead feels risky?
2. In Genesis 31:4–16, Jacob recounts twenty years of God’s protection, provision, and intervention. Where can you look back and clearly see God’s hand in seasons you once thought were chaotic or unfair? How does remembering God’s past faithfulness strengthen your trust today?
3. In Genesis 31:19, Rachel steals her father’s household gods, grasping for something she can hold when facing the unknown. What “household gods” are you tempted to carry into uncertain seasons, security, money, relationships, plans? How does this passage expose their inability to save?
4. In Genesis 31:24–30, God stops Laban, a man on the warpath, with a single dream. Where have you seen God intervene in ways you could never have orchestrated? How does this help you trust Him rather than the “insurance plans” you tend to rely on?
5. In Genesis 31:36–42, Jacob finally speaks the truth about twenty years of unseen labor, saying, “God saw my affliction and issued His verdict.” Where have you been faithfully laboring without recognition? How does knowing that God sees and remembers your work encourage you to persevere?
6. In Genesis 31:43–55, Jacob and Laban make a covenant, and Jacob sets up a pillar, echoing the pillar at Bethel. Where do you need to mark God’s faithfulness in your own life? What would it look like to “set up a pillar” of remembrance in this season?

1. In Genesis 29:31–35, the Lord sees Leah, the overlooked, unloved wife, and opens her womb. Where do you feel overlooked or unseen right now? How does God’s attention to Leah encourage you to trust that He sees you even when others don’t?
2. Leah names her sons with prayers full of longing, disappointment, and hope. Where have you revised your prayers downward, asking God for less because you’re afraid He won’t give you what you truly desire? What would it look like to bring your full longing back to Him?
3. In Genesis 30:1–8, Rachel reaches for a quick fix through Bilhah instead of turning to God. Where are you tempted to reach for “mandrakes”, cultural shortcuts, self‑help strategies, or things you can control, instead of waiting on God? How have those quick fixes failed you?
4. In Genesis 30:14–21, Rachel and Leah trade mandrakes and hire Jacob like property, believing they can engineer blessing. Where do you see yourself trying to manipulate outcomes rather than trusting God’s timing? How does this passage expose the futility of self‑reliance?
5. In Genesis 30:22–24, God remembers Rachel and opens her womb, not because of her schemes, but because of His grace. Where do you need to stop striving and start trusting that God’s work in your life does not depend on your performance?
6. In Genesis 30:25–43, Jacob prospers not because of peeled sticks or clever strategy, but because God keeps His promise. Where have you been tempted to credit your success to your own skill or effort? How does this passage call you to recognize God’s hand in what you’ve received?

1. In Genesis 29:1–14, Jacob arrives in Haran and immediately sees God’s providence at work, and Rachel appears at the well just as he arrives. Where have you seen God’s hand guiding you into places or relationships you didn’t plan? How does this passage encourage you to trust God’s unseen work in your current season?
2. In Genesis 29:15–20, Jacob works seven years for Rachel, and they seem “but a few days” because of his love for her. Where is God calling you to embrace costly, patient, sacrificial love? How does Jacob’s devotion challenge the way you love the people God has placed in your life?
3. In Genesis 29:21–25, Jacob wakes up to Leah instead of Rachel, a moment of painful reckoning. Where have you experienced a “behold, it was Leah” moment, when consequences arrived for something you sowed? How does this passage invite you to see God’s discipline as sanctifying rather than punishing?
4. In Genesis 29:25–27, Laban deceives Jacob using the same method Jacob once used on Isaac, darkness, disguise, and misdirection. Where do you see God using difficult circumstances to refine areas of your character that need shaping? How does this help you interpret your own “Laban seasons”?
5. In Genesis 29:28–30, Jacob begins fourteen years of service under Laban, years of discipline, growth, and sanctification. Where is God calling you to endure a long, difficult season with faith and patience? How does the promise of God’s presence (Genesis 28:15) strengthen you to persevere?
6. Across Genesis 29:1–30, God works through deception, heartbreak, rivalry, and disappointment, yet His purposes never stop. How does God’s unstoppable faithfulness comfort you when your life feels messy, complicated, or far from what you expected? Where do you need to trust that God is still shaping you into the person He intends you to become?

1. In Genesis 27:41–45, Esau’s hatred forces Jacob to run from the consequences of his own sin. Where have you experienced the impulse to run, from conflict, from consequences, or from something you caused? How does this passage invite you to stop running and face your sin honestly before God?
2. In Genesis 28:3–4, Isaac blesses Jacob with the full Abrahamic promise before Jacob repents or apologizes. Where have you seen God show grace to you before you “deserved” it? How does this challenge your assumptions about how God treats sinners who are still in process?
3. In Genesis 28:10–13, Jacob lies down alone, ashamed, and afraid... and God comes down to meet him. Where do you feel most alone or most convinced God is distant? How does God’s initiative in this passage reshape your understanding of His nearness in your darkest places?
4. In Genesis 28:15, God says, “I am with you… I will keep you… I will not leave you.” Which of these promises do you most need to believe today? What would change in your life if you truly trusted that God is already present in the place you fear He has abandoned?
5. In Genesis 28:16–17, Jacob says, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” Where might God already be at work in your life in ways you have not yet recognized? What practices help you “look up” instead of assuming God is absent?
6. In Genesis 28:20–22, Jacob responds with conditional faith: “If God will be with me… then the LORD shall be my God.” Where do you see “if‑then faith” in your own walk with Christ? What would it look like to trust God’s promises without waiting to see how things turn out first?

Reflection Questions

1. In Genesis 27:1–4, Isaac knows God’s clear word (“the older shall serve the younger”) yet attempts to bless Esau anyway. Where are you tempted to force your own way even when Scripture has already made God’s way clear? How does Isaac’s resistance warn you about the danger of letting personal desires override God’s revealed will?

2. In Genesis 27:5–17, Rebekah believes the promise but does not trust the Promiser, choosing deception instead of faith. Where do you find yourself trying to “help God along” rather than waiting for Him to act? What consequences have you seen when you try to accomplish God’s work through your own schemes?

3. In Genesis 27:18–24, Jacob lies repeatedly, wears Esau’s clothes, and fears being exposed, like a “costume that doesn’t fit.” What disguises are you tempted to wear to present yourself differently than you really are? How has deception,  even small deception, cost you more than the thing you were trying to gain?

4. In Genesis 27:33, Isaac trembles violently when he realizes he cannot redirect God’s will. Where has God “shaken you awake” through circumstances that exposed your attempts to control outcomes? How did that moment lead you toward surrender, repentance, or renewed trust?

5. In Genesis 27:34–38, Esau weeps bitterly, but Hebrews 12 says his tears were grief over consequences, not repentance. Where do you see the difference between grief and repentance in your own life? What would true repentance look like in the area where you most resemble Esau?

6. Across Genesis 27:1–40, every character schemes, manipulates, or resists God, and yet God’s plan stands firm. How does God’s unstoppable faithfulness comfort you when you see your own failures, fears, or attempts to control? Where do you need to stop grabbing and start trusting the God who cannot be thwarted?

Reflection Questions

1. In Genesis 26:1–5, God tells Isaac to stay in a famine‑stricken land and promises, “I will be with you.” Where is God calling you to stay, trust, or obey even when circumstances feel barren or risky? How does God’s promise of His presence reshape the way you face uncertainty?

2. Isaac repeats Abraham’s sin, lying about Rebekah because he is afraid in verses 6-11. Where are you tempted to compromise because fear feels more real than God’s presence? What patterns have you inherited or repeated that God is calling you to break?

3. God exposes Isaac’s lie not through a miracle but through Abimelech looking out a window. Where might God already be working in your life through ordinary means you’ve overlooked? How can you cultivate the habit of “noticing” God’s providence?

4. Isaac keeps digging wells in verses 17-22: Esek (contention), Sitnah (hostility), and finally Rehoboth (room). Where are you experiencing “Esek and Sitnah” seasons with conflict, resistance, or setbacks? How does Isaac’s perseverance encourage you to keep digging faithfully until God provides “Rehoboth”?

5. In Genesis 26:24, God appears and says, “Fear not, for I am with you.” How does believing God’s present presence (not just past or future) change the way you face fear, temptation, or discouragement today?

6. In Genesis 26:26–33, Abimelech concludes, “We see plainly that the LORD has been with you.” What would people conclude about God by watching your life this week? Where is God inviting you to live more visibly as someone who believes He is with you?

Reflection Questions

1. In Genesis 25:21, Isaac prayed for twenty years before God answered. Where are you experiencing a kind of “barrenness” right now, whether spiritually, emotionally, vocationally, or relationally? How does Isaac’s persistent prayer challenge the way you respond when God seems silent?

2. In Genesis 25:22–23,  Rebekah felt turmoil inside her and “went to inquire of the Lord.” When life feels chaotic or painful, do you tend to seek God or seek escape? What would it look like for you to “inquire of the Lord” in your present confusion?

3. God overturns human expectations in Genesis 25:23, “the older shall serve the younger.” How does this passage challenge your assumptions about fairness, control, or how God “should” work? Where do you need to surrender your expectations to God’s sovereign wisdom?

4. Esau lives by impulse and appetite, driven by whatever is immediately in front of him (Genesis 25:27-30). Where are you most tempted to live like Esau, choosing the urgent over the eternal, the visible over the promised?

5. In Genesis 25:31–34, Esau trades his birthright for a bowl of stew, and Hebrews 12 calls him “unholy.” What “red stew” are you tempted to trade the things of God for comfort, approval, pleasure, convenience, distraction? How does this passage warn you to value what God values?

6. Neither Jacob nor Esau is admirable, yet God works through one and offers grace to both. How does this passage humble you about your own sin and lift your eyes to God’s undeserved grace? Where do you need to repent of Esau‑like impulsiveness or Jacob‑like scheming and return to simple trust in Christ?

Reflection Questions

1. Abraham continues to act in faith even in old age (Gen 25:1-6), ordering his household and protecting the covenant line. How does this challenge you to finish well in the season you are in? Where do you need to take faithful action rather than coast spiritually?

2. Abraham dies, but the promises of God continue through Isaac. (Gen 25:7-11) How does this passage reshape the way you think about your legacy? What are you doing now that will matter spiritually after you are gone?

3. In Genesis 25:11, Isaac settles at the well where God met Hagar in her distress.
Where has God met you in past seasons of pain, and how might He be calling you to return to those places with renewed trust?

4. God fulfills His word to Ishmael (Gen 25:12-18) even though Ishmael is not the child of promise. How does this passage challenge your assumptions about who God blesses and why? Where do you need to trust God’s sovereignty rather than your expectations?

5. Genesis 25 shows God moving His redemptive story forward through ordinary people, ordinary families, and ordinary generations. How does this passage invite you to trust God’s providence in the ordinary moments of your life this week?