The Book of Genesis: Introduction
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Tonight we start the book of Genesis. This book is easy to find because it is the first book of the Bible. Being the first book you can guess that it is a pretty important book to the Bible and to that guess you would be correct. The book of Genesis introduces many theological threads that are woven throughout the tapestry of the Bible.
Background Information
Background Information
Genesis gets it’s name from the Greek which means origin. This book was originally written in Hebrew though, the Hebrew title can be translated as “in the beginning”. Many Old Testament books are titled in the Hebrew as the first few words of that book.
Traditionally the authorship of the book of Genesis is attributed to Moses, the first five books of the Bible are referred to as the books of Moses. Scholars have found some post Mosaic elements to the book but these are all attributed to the names of places being updated.
Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible that we refer to as the Pentateuch and Jews refer to them as the Law. These five books make up the foundation for the whole Bible, and Genesis is the foundation for these five books. Through this we can see that understanding the book of Genesis is foundational for understanding the entire Bible which is why I have decided to tackle this bog book now.
The final bit of background information that you should know as we start this book is the genre of the book. It is important to know this so that we know what is ahead and how to properly understand it. Genesis is written in historical narrative, to further define it we can even call it hero stories. This book documents history largely in a way that jumps through time from main character to main character and goes over many people through the use of genealogies. Because this book is historical narrative we know that just because someone in the story does it doesn’t mean that we should. We can often figure out if their action was right or wrong based on the way that God reacted to it or from what we learn later in the law. We can also understand what it says literally since it is the documentation of history and not poetic or a fable.
So Genesis is the book of beginnings that is foundational for the whole Bible. It was written by Moses as history, documenting the hero stories from the beginning of the world.
Tonight I want to give an overview of the whole book of Genesis. We will go through the whole book following the outline that I have provided. This will give us a large view of the book that we can come back to as we go down to the details in the following weeks. You can say today we are looking out over the forest and next week we will begin looking at the trees.
The Story
The Story
Primeval History
Primeval History
We begin the story of Genesis in chapter 1 where God creates everything. It says in Genesis 1.1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
and then at the end of creation we see in Genesis 1.31
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
God created a good world, a place where everything was in his design and there was no sin.
One of the defining marks of the book of Genesis is this thing called a toledot, better known as the phrase “these are the generations of”. It is this phrase that divides up the various sections of the book. The first one of these is in Genesis 2.4
These are the generations
of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
In this first section after creation we see the generations of the heavens and the earth. This is where we zoom in on the creation of man and woman. We also see the second main event of this first part of Genesis, the fall. This is where sin enters the world and things are never the same. Sin enters the world through the first main character Adam. This is not without hope though, it says in Genesis 3.15
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
This is the first promise of one who will come and make things right. We know this is Jesus but at this point in the story that is always the question. Who will it be?
The third part of this first section of Genesis details the generations of Adam. Through this it is clear that sin is here to stay. Sin and corruption are increasing on the earth. This grieved the Lord but the next main character, Noah, found favor in the sight of the Lord.
During the generations of Noah, God decides that he is going to wipe every living thing off of the face of the earth. Noah is tasked with making an ark where he, his family, and some of the animals will survive this catastrophic event. This flood is often described in a fun lighthearted way but this is a display of God’s wrath upon the earth. After they survive this flood we see a bit of Noah’s sons which are hardly main characters. The generations of his sons do give us what is called the table of nations, this is how the first nations of the world come to be. Further information about how and why this happen are given in the narrative of the tower of Babel.
Through this section of the primeval history of the world we see four great events: creation, fall, flood, and Babel.
Patriarchal History
Patriarchal History
This second section starts with the generations of Terah. We do not know much about this man except that he fathered Abram, who will later be called Abraham. Abraham is the next main character. Previously we were focused in on the world through a few key men, here we are focusing in on a family. This family produces what we call the elect line. What this means is the line of people that God chooses to carry his promises through. Abraham is called by God and promised to be the father of many nations. Through his story he is tested and there is an issue, though he is to be the father of many nations he and his wife cannot have children. Abraham tries to take matters into his own hands and ends up with a son by his wife's slave woman, this son is named Ishmael. God promises to care for him but this is not the one that will carry on the promises. Later against the odds at the ripe age of 100 Abraham has a son with his wife Sarah and he is named Isaac. Abrahams life can be viewed through Genesis 15.6
And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
The generations of Ishmael are short but they serve to show that God kept his promise of providing for the son that Abraham should not have had.
This is where the focus shifts to the descendants of Abraham through the elect line. Isaac is the next main character but the story doesn’t stay on him for long. It quickly falls onto his twin sons, Jacob and Esau. These two brothers do not get along and Jacob tricks and deceives Esau many times. Isaac loves Esau more but God has chosen Jacob to continue the elect line. Esau is not without honor as a descendant of Abraham though. Later in life they make up and forgive each other and Jacob turns from a trickster and deceiver to a true man of God. When this happens his name is changed to Israel. His sons will become the twelve tribes of Israel.
The generations of Esau are then documented showing that God was faithful to fulfill his promises of caring for him. This is much in the same way as the generations of Ishmael.
The book of Genesis concludes with the Generations of Jacob where the final main character and his story are revealed. This is the story of Joseph. Josephs story is filled with many up’s and downs but can best be viewed by what he says in the last part of Genesis in Genesis 50.20
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
The book concludes in a way that leaves you with many questions. Like what about the snake crusher from chapter three that is supposed to be coming? Who will carry on the elect line? What about the great nation? All of this is coming later in the book of Exodus but now the stage is set.
Through the patriarchal history we see four great men: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Through the two parts of Genesis we see 4 great events and 4 great men. So what is the significance of all of this?
To start with the significance we have the origin of everything. How did we get here? God spoke. We also have the origin of Israel. This is vitally important for the rest of the Bible. Throughout the Bible God is called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This sets us a foundation through which we can understand so much of the Bible.
The book of Genesis also teaches us something else that we all need to know. It begins with God making everything and it was perfect, there was no sin. Then man messed it up and introduced sin into the world. Every man after Adam is born with a sin nature, even you and me. For the rest of the book we are looking and waiting for the one that will make it right but all we see is more men with the same problem as us. This is the basis of the gospel, this explains why we even need the gospel in the first place. It isn’t until much later that the promised snake crusher comes and his name is Jesus. Jesus came and lived a sinless life and he died in our place for our sins. He was our substitute on the cross. His death made a way for us to be forgiven for our sins. Three days after he died he rose from the grave showing that death had no power over him. To be saved all you must do is repent of your sins and put your faith in Jesus as your Lord.
This is what we are really looking at in Genesis, the need for faith because of our depravity.
In the book of Hebrews chapter 11 there is a passage called the hall of faith. We will be looking at this chapter as we go through Genesis, but you will see in it how many of these main characters are regarded highly for their faith. Not for the things that they had done, which is a lot, but for their faith. Just like us these men are saved through faith.
The question is how will you respond? Will it be in faith like the men of old? Or in rebellion like their enemies that we will see?
Genesis is a grand story that revolves around a few great heroes but through it all God is the main character. This book is a showcase for who he is through the lives of these men. We will see his holiness, his sovereignty, his faithfulness, and much more. The question is though what are your thoughts about God? Someday we will all stand before him and we better be ready.
Genesis is a story about God.