UNIVERSITY OF SAINT LOUIS
Tuguegarao City
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, ARTS and SCIENCES
First Semester
A.Y. 2021-2022
CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE
CFED 1013- God’s Journey with His People
Prepared by:
MR. MICHAEL ANGELO AGUDO
MISS THELMA BARICAUA, MARS
MISS SARAH MARIE IBAY
MISS MICA TALAY
MRS. ESPERANZA ZABLAN
MISS CHARISSA ZALUN
Reviewed by:
WILSON TEMPORAL, LPT, MST
CFED DEPARTMENT HEAD
Recommended by:
VENUS I. GUYOS, Ph.D.
Academic Dean
Approved by:
EMMANUEL JAMES PATTAGUAN, Ph.D.
Vice President for Academics
CFED 1013- God’s Journey with His People
|1
School of Education, Arts and Sciences
Teacher Education Department
Curriculum 2019-2020
This Week’s Time Table: (September 6-11, 2021)
For this week, the following shall be your guide for the different lessons and tasks that you need to accomplish.
Oops! Be patient, read them carefully before proceeding to the tasks expected of you.
HAVE A FRUITFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCE 😊
Date Topics Activities or Tasks
September 6 Stories before the calling of Abraham Read Lessons
September 7 The Call of Abraham Read Lessons
September 8 God’s Covenant with Abraham Read Lessons
September 9 Isaac and the other Patriarchs Read Lessons
September 10 Submission of learning tasks Accomplish the worksheet in the Learning
Task portion of this module
September 11 Quiz Accomplish the Evaluation portion of this
module
CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE
CFED 1013 (God’s Journey with His People)
AY 2021-2022
Lesson 4: Abraham and the Patriarchs
Topic: The Patriarchs
Learning Outcomes: At the end of this module, you are expected to:
1. explain the role of the patriarchs in the molding of god’s chosen people;
2. enumerate the names of the first three patriarchs and the 12 sons of israel;
3. elucidate the kind of life that was required by god for the patriarchs;
4. explain the wider context or full meaning of god’s calling the patriarchs;
5. expound the deep reason why God had to intervene in human.
LEARNING CONTENT
Introduction:
In module 1 we had a general overview on how God journeys with His people. This initiative of
God to journey with His people is our Salvation History. As a manifestation that God loves us so
much, He made his presence felt through many ways. The fullness of this presence was when the
CFED 1013- God’s Journey with His People
|2
Word became flesh---God becoming human. Our encounter with Him will find its completeness when
we will fully experience the Kingdom. In relation to our present life, there are traces of God’s really
intervening in human history for us to always remember the great destiny which He planned for all
people.
This Chapter will discuss the Patriarchs, the foundation of God’s people whom God will use as
instruments to start journeying with His people.
Lesson Proper:
The Patriarchs
For us to understand the importance of the Patriarchs in the history of the Israelites or in
modern term called Jewish people, let us make a glimpse of the stories before the calling of the first
Patriarch--- Abraham. These stories are called “reconstructed history” by some Biblical experts.
Stories in the Old Testament revolve with the cycle of
sin-curse-blessing/restoration. When Adam and Eve
committed the sin of pride and disobedience, they
became conscious and were ashamed that they are
naked. In Genesis 3, the curse or punishment was given
by God in verse 16 and 17, such as pain in child bearing,
making man till the soil before reaping its fruits, and
death as the consequence of the sin they have
committed. As a blessing, towards the end, God did not
allow them to be naked, he made garments of skins and
clothed them.
Same cycle is also applied in the story of the children
of Adam and Eve--- Cain and Abel. In Genesis 4, Cain
out of jealousy murdered his brother Abel, who was a
more favored son because of his best offering to God.
Clearly, in this story sin was present in the act of killing
and the feeling of jealousy by Cain. After which the
punishment was when the Lord said’ “…and now you are
cursed from the ground…When you till the ground, it
shall no longer yield you its produce; you shall be a
fugitive and a wanderer on earth.”(Gen 4, 11-12 RSV)
Cain was fearful of becoming a fugitive and wanderer
and said “My punishment is greater than I can bear… you have driven me … and I shall be a fugitive
and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me.”(Gen 4, 13-14) However, as a
response on the fear of Cain, the Lord answered, “Not so! If anyone slays Cain, vengeance shall be
taken on him seven-fold. And then the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest anyone who came upon him
should kill him.” (Genesis 4, 15) Even though the Lord cursed him to be a fugitive and wanderer, yet
the blessing came when He promised that Cain will never be killed.
The pattern is also the same in the Story of Noah in Genesis 6. The wickedness of mankind
made God plan to wipe out all people on earth. As a symbol for cleansing, the great flood was the
punishment. However, Noah was presented as the blessing when he builds the ark to save them from
the flood. After the flood subsided, there was only one nation under the descendants of Noah.
CFED 1013- God’s Journey with His People
|3
When people grew in number sin comes into the fore again in the story of the tower of Babel.
The building of the tower of Babel was a desire to have fame so that their names will spread
throughout all the earth and the next generation instead of that of God (Genesis 11:4). It was also a
sin of disobedience since they did not spread throughout all the earth as God commanded their
forefathers. Their desire to be the ones to be glorified instead of God was shattered when the Lord
differentiated their languages. Thus, they really were scattered on earth as God planned for people.
The cycle in the stories before the calling of the Patriarchs presents the people’s act of always
turning away from God despite God’s act of always restoring them. This act of committing sin was
continuous from the forefathers to the next generations. This will lead to God’s calling the first
Patriarch Abraham to start journeying with His people.
Meanwhile the continuity of sin is what we call “original sin”. Why original? Because it is not
local (joke only). Original sin does not mean that we inherited the sins committed by our forefathers
but what we inherited is the weak human nature which has the tendency to commit sin. In tagalog,
this is called “kahinaan ng tao”. This is the reason why some of us when we are accused of
committing mistake would answer by saying “tao lang”. Water or the flood as a sign of cleansing in
the story of Noah will come to us in the water of Baptism which will remove our original sin and so we
are also marked as God’s people. So, with our Baptism, we hope that we overcome that weakness of
being “tao” will live out our nature as the image of God. This means that if God is good, we should
also be good, if God is just, we should also be just, and so on and so forth. You can enumerate a lot
of God’s traits which we should live being his image such as loving, caring, compassionate, etc.
With the continuity of sin or people always turning away from God, comes the calling of
Abraham in Genesis 12. How will Abraham become a blessing? Who is Abraham? What is his role in
the life of the people of God and in God’s plan for all people?
Genesis 12:1-3: The Call of Abraham.
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your
father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great
nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a
blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse;
and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.”[a]
4
So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he
departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions
which they had gathered, and the persons that they had gotten in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of
Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem,
to the oak[b] of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and
said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So, he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to
him.
Let us analyze the words of God to
Abram in Genesis 12:1-4. What are the three
things that God promised to Abraham? Among
those three promises, which one is clearly
telling us that God calling Abraham was just
the beginning of His plan to give salvation to
humanity? Obviously, the first promise was
the land which is Canaan as found in Genesis
12:5. For the second promise which Abram did
CFED 1013- God’s Journey with His People
|4
not immediately believe was the son since he had no heir with Sarai. How can Abram become a great nation if
he will not have children or even a son? The third promise which may also be very remote for Abram was
God’s plan to save or journey with His people starting with Abram and his descendants who will be the
Israelites. This third promise was greatly implied in Genesis 12: 4, when God said, “all the families of the earth
will find blessing in you.”
God’s covenant with Abraham
With the plan of God for all people as greatly implied in the calling of Abraham, there are series of events
that will slowly give signs on how it will be carried out starting with Abraham. With the promises of land and a
son to Abram, the next would be the changing of their names and the circumcision (Genesis 17:1-22).
Circumcision is a sign of cleanliness and holiness, which means that one must walk blameless with God. The
changing of names has a deep and greater implication. In Genesis 17:5, 15, God will change the names of
Abram and Sarai into Abraham and Sarah. Change of names in the Bible greatly implies the change that the
person must undergo, and the name greatly signifies one’s mission that he will carry out. One good example of
this is the name “Jesus” which means savior (Matthew 1:21). With this, Abraham’s mission was to become the
“father of a multitude of nations”.
How will Abraham become the “father of a multitude of
nations”? Biologically, Abraham was the father of the
Hebrew nation only or the Israelites. How can we call
Abraham our father? As said in Genesis 12:3, how can we
gain blessing through Abraham? With this, we must ask the
question, what was really the covenant between God and
Abraham in its fullest sense? In Genesis 17:7- 8, it is
greatly implied that God will slowly introduce Himself as the
God not only of Abraham but even his descendants. So,
the covenant was “I will be your/their God. While Abraham
and his descendants were the only ones being mention
here, we need to go back to the wider context of God’s
words to Abraham which was “all the families of the earth
will find blessing in you.” Back to the question, how will
Abraham become the “father of a multitude of nations” or
how can we call Abraham our father? The people
descended from Abraham would be the trustee, the chosen
people, called to prepare for that day when God will gather
all his children into unity. They would be the root onto which
the gentiles would be grafted, once they come to believe.
So, what would connect us with Abraham? It is our faith in
the God (YHWH) who called Abraham and the patriarchs.
So, Abraham is not our biological father, but he is our father
of faith. This is why we hear many people singing “father Abraham has many children, and I am one
of them…” Still, we have to ask the question of how will God bless all the families of the earth through
Abraham? Who is the person from the lineage of Abraham who will bless all the families on earth?
Going back to the background of the calling of the patriarchs, it was because of the people
continuously committing sin. So, it is now very clear that the person who will bless us all is no other
than the Savior, the Word or the promise of God who became flesh. It is now clear that Abraham is
our father of faith.
CFED 1013- God’s Journey with His People
|5
Readers may be troubled by God's choice of Abram. Is Abram somehow special, or better, or
more religious than other people? Again, God called people not because they are perfect or holy, but
God would intervene and comes to our rescue because of our sinfulness. Abraham’s faith was tested
many times when he questioned his being childless, but again, this is where God’s power and love
would work. The ultimate test of his faith was when God asked him to offer his only son Isaac which
was just a proof that Abraham now would fully trust God after all his encounters with Him. So, with
faith in God, His grace will overcome our human weaknesses.
Conclusion
The Story of Abraham is the actual starting point of God bringing salvation to humanity although
this has been planned since when the first persons committed sin (Gen. 3:15). Abraham became the
father of the Israelites whom God will continue to use as instruments in spreading His Love / salvation
for all. From the Israelites would come the peak of God’s promise to give blessing to all the families
on earth.
The Next Patriarchs
The major theme of Genesis 12-50 is how God
overcomes obstacles in order to keep His covenant and the
promises that goes with it. From Abraham to the next patriarchs
until their formation as God’s chosen people, God would sustain
His covenant with them. He was a God who really journeyed
with them.
After Abraham, the next patriarchs would be his son
Isaac, who is the father of Jacob and his twelve sons who
would become the founders/fathers of the Israelites until they
will be formed as one nation. Among the sons of Jacob, the one
who would become famous since he was God’s instrument for
saving Jacob’s family from the great famine would be Joseph.
The story of Joseph going first to Egypt could not also be
understood by many until its peak which was his becoming the
acting pharaoh of Egypt who will eventually rescue his family when the great famine even affected
Canaan where his parents and brothers lived.
Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob. He was considered the favorite son of Jacob and was a
dreamer and an interpreter of dreams. One of his dreams when he was young was that the sun and
the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to him. His brothers were so envious that they tried to
kill him but later decided to sell him. They sold him to the Ishmaelites, but the Midianites traders
pulled and took Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar who was a courtier and chief steward of the
Pharaoh. By the way, the term “Pharaoh” is a “title” for the king of Egypt. Joseph’s refusal to have an
affair with the wife of Potiphar who reversed the story sent Joseph to the prison cell.
Despite the hardships in Egypt his name became great because of his interpretation of the
Pharaoh’s dream. This will eventually promote him to become the governor or the acting Pharaoh of
Egypt. Pharaoh’s dream was about a great famine who would come after years of good harvest.
The famine for which the Egyptian greatly prepared for with the leadership of Joseph did not
only
CFED 1013- God’s Journey with His People
|6
affect Egypt but even Canaan where Jacob’s family was. With such great crisis in food, Jacob asked
his sons to go to Egypt to buy food which will lead to their discovery of Joseph who will eventually let
them settle in Egypt.
In the stories of the next patriarchs, God would always remind that He is the God of their
forefathers and would always sustain His covenant with them.
LEARNING TASK
Name: Score:
Course/Year: Date:
CFED 1013- God’s Journey with His People
|7
As you may have noticed, names of some Biblical characters changed, including Abram’s, when God
made a covenant concerning their future. In the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, a person’s name
holds special meaning. It could be about that person’s character or the mission that God has called him for.
In this activity, make a creative ACROSTIC OF YOUR NAME. For each letter, think of a word/phrase
that best describes your character or how you were beautifully designed by God—in His own image
and likeness.
Example:
I am designed to be:
C-ompassionate
H-onest
A-ffectionate
What could be your mission as implied in your name? (Please write your answer in not more than 7 sentences)
EVALUATION
Name: Score:
Course/Year: Date:
CFED 1013- God’s Journey with His People
|8
I. Directions: Read the questions or statements carefully and choose the letter that corresponds to the
best answer.
1. How is the etymological meaning of the word ‘Canon’ related to its symbolic meaning?
A. It is derived from Hebrew, meaning bar or rod
B. It is a tool for measuring
C. It is the Church’ standard in proclaiming its official teaching
D. It is like a ruler or T-square which is used as a basis to draw a straight line
2. Which of the following best explains the inerrancy of the Bible? (biblical interpretation)
A. The Bible is scientifically correct
B. The Bible is historically correct
C. The Bible is correct in terms of its structure
D. The Bible is correct in terms of its message
3. Which of the following speaks of the objective interpretation of the Biblical texts?
A. Eisegesis
B. Exegesis
C. Inspiration
D. Biblical Canon
4. Which does NOT speak of the factors which play important part in interpreting the Bible?
A. the inspired human author’s intention
B. the text itself
C. the reader of the text
D. the translator’s intention
5. It is the first collection of books (Canon) of which the Church had no difficulty in accepting their
inspired character
A. Protocanonical
B. Deuterocanonical
C. Apocryphal
D. Apokriptus
6. Who was the first Patriarch whom God chose to start His mission?
A. Joseph
B. Abraham
C. Moses
D. Adam
7. Who was the first recorded son of Adam and Eve?
A. Lamech
B. Abel
C. Cain
D. Seth
CFED 1013- God’s Journey with His People
|9
8. What did Abel bring as a sacrifice?
A. Fish and birds
B. The fattest of his sheep
C. Firstborn of his flocks
D. Bullocks and cattle
9. Why did the humankind build the tower of Babel?
A. So that they would be together.
B. So that they can worship their own gods.
C. So that they could be like God.
D. So that a flood would never destroy them again.
10. Abram was initially commanded to leave all the following EXCEPT
A. His possessions
B. His country
C. His people
D. His father's household
II. Directions: Read each statement carefully and decide whether it is True/False.
1. Original sin refers to the sins we inherited from our forefathers.
2. Abraham is the biological father of all nations.
3. Abraham never questioned God.
4. The Israelites were very faithful to God.
5. God's plan of Salvation is inclusive.
6. Inspiration:Holy Spirit ; Canonicity:Church
7. All that are canonical are spiritually inspired.
8. In getting the meaning of the text in the Bible, we are highly encouraged to treat it based on our
present personal experiences.
9. The Bible is scientifically and historically correct.
10. The Catholic Bible has 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament.
REFERENCES
Textbooks
Morgan, G. C. (1912). Living messages of the books of the Bible: Old and New Testments. New York: Fleming
H. Revell.
YOUCAT english: Youth cathecism of the Catholic Church. (2011). San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
Becoming a Household of God in the Old Testament (150 years of CICM in the Philippines) by CICM
Philippines
Online Reference
CFED 1013- God’s Journey with His People
| 10
Fairchild, M. (n.d.). The Seven Days of Creation: What Happened on Each Day? Retrieved August 11, 2020,
from [Link]
Learning Materials
1. Worksheets (teacher-made)
2. PowerPoint (teacher-made)
CFED 1013- God’s Journey with His People
| 11