Genesis: Introduction & Overview

BLANK SLIDE TO BEGIN RECORDING (Please don’t wait for Matt to be on podium.)

Introduction and Scripture Reading

Scripture Introduction

Imagine you’re leading a band of two-million refugees who’ve recently been freed from slavery in Egypt and are about to enter a land promised to your forefathers. The land they’re about to enter, however, has mighty warriors who stand head and shoulders above every soldier you have. In order to have this land that’s been promised to you, your army must conquer these giant warriors. The people who live in this land are immoral beyond comprehension in part because of the many idols they worship.

It’s an impossible feat for mere humans, but your recently-deceased leader prepared an essential gift to remind you:

who your King is—in all His majesty,

who you are (warts and all) and why you must serve this King,

how your King has won many battles before you with strategy and resources no other king could dream of,

how and why you were made for this very purpose, and given every necessary resource to insure ultimate victory.

Your King—the King over all kings—has a master plan that no other can rival.

This plan is more than a battle plan to conquer your enemies. It’s an anthology of sorts intentionally crafted to remind you of your recent ancestors failings and their consequences so you won’t make the same grave errors—worshiping other gods to your own peril. You must worship ʾĕlōhîm (אֱלֹהִ֑ים), the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel (Genesis 32:28; 35:9–10)).

In order to help instill in you a resolve to love and follow the only True King—the only God—Moses wrote and (partially) compiled the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). Taken together, they are shorter than novels many read in a week or two—a mere 250-400 pages depending on page size and typesetting). And Genesis, the book of beginnings/origins, is the first book in the Pentateuch and God’s inspired, completed Word we now hold in our hands or phones.

Genesis is the true account of the only Creator God, written to show Israel their origins. Moses wanted them to know that God was the all-powerful, all-sovereign Creator God who moved through history to bring them to where they were, poised to take the land of Canaan because of God’s powerful and sovereign working throughout history to that point.

But God’s purpose for Genesis stretch far beyond the lessons Joshua and the people of Israel needed—to you and me this very day. Genesis is as potent today as it ever was, with enduring truths—that is truths that apply to every person in every culture in every time period—written for our instruction to help us walk this walk of faith with confidence in God.

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This book of beginnings is the Unshakable Foundation you and I need to understand:

who our King is—in all His creative majesty,

who we are (warts/sins and all) and why we must serve this King with our whole lives,

how our God has won countless battles before us with strategy, resources and power none other could imagine,

how and why we were made for the very purposes God has established for us, and given all the power and every necessary resource to insure victory through faith.

The theme of the Genesis is God’s sovereignty in human history, especially in the history of Israel, His chosen people. It is an account of how God began to call out a people for Himself with the purpose of blessing all nations through them.

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Proposition: Since God is the self-existent, eternal Creator and only King, we must all give our whole lives/hearts to worship Him.

Genesis is divided into two main sections which hinge at chapter 12. G. Campbell Morgan has cleverly outlined the book as:

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Generation (chap. 1–2, creation)

Degeneration (chap. 3–11, the fall leading to the judgment of the flood and further judgment at the Tower of Babel);

Regeneration (chap. 12–50, where God sovereignly leads and redeems, His chosen people through:

Abraham (12-24),

Isaac (25-36),

Jacob (27-36), and

Joseph (37-50).

Genesis is rich in theology. It has been said, “The roots of all subsequent revelation are planted deep in Genesis, and whoever would truly comprehend that revelation must begin here.” (J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore the Book [Zondervan], p. 23.)

A. W. Pink says, “In Genesis we have, in germ form, almost all of the great doctrines which are afterwards fully developed in the books of Scripture which follow” (Gleanings in Genesis [Moody Press], p. 5-7). He lists a small handful:

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God is revealed as the Sovereign, all-powerful Creator. He is seen as the Covenant God. The first hint of the Trinity is in Genesis. The schemes of Satan, the fallen nature of man, God’s sovereign election and saving grace, justification by faith, the security of the believer, the need for holiness, the power of prayer, and even the saints’ rapture to heaven are in Genesis. God’s judgment on sin, His promise of a Savior, and the death, resurrection, and superior priesthood of that Savior are foreshadowed. The basis of God’s program for world missions is found in Genesis.

Genesis tells us the beginning of almost everything except God. There is the beginning of the universe, of life, man, the seven-day week, marriage, family life, sin, sacrifice, redemption, death, the nations, government, cities, music, literature, art, agriculture, and languages.

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A. Generation (Genesis 1-2)

Genesis opens with God’s assumptive reality of God. He’s not explained or defended. He simply is, He has always been, and He will always be. The first four words of the Bible (three in Hebrew) authoritatively declare:

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Genesis 1:1 (ESV)

1 In the beginning, God…created the heavens and the earth.

Here we see the Unshakable Foundation upon which the rest of the Scriptures are based: there is only one God, and he made the heavens and the earth. This affirmation separates Old Testament (and all biblical) faith from its ancient Near Eastern counterparts who spread fables of creation.

The revelation of who God is determines who we are and why everything in the universe exists.

We begin to see the Trinity, or triune God (though only dimly at this point).

The first miracle of Jesus recorded in the Bible. In Colossians 1:16 we are told that Jesus (who is God) created all things:

Col 1:16 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

We’re faced with the question, “What comes into our mind when we think about God?” J. I. Packer describes our answer to this question as the most important thing about a person. Whose view of God will we believe—Christ’s or Satan’s?” and “How can we know God?”

Here, in the early chapters of Genesis, we see mankind created in God’s image—a miracle and reality that provides the ethical underpinnings for a heavy majority, if not all, of the issues we face as humans:

Murder isn’t just a crime against man, it’s a crime against God in whose image we are made.

Unlike the animals, they bear his image: they think, speak, relate, work, rule, and assess (2:4–25). Best of all, they can know him, walk with him, and share his work. Created sinless, they need only to keep his commands for their perfect life with him to continue.

Questions about the conception of human beings in utero to ethical end-of-life decisions are based, largely, on the fact that we are not the Creator and therefore cannot decide when a newly conceived or long-lived life ends.

Adam and Eve are given the creation mandate to

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Gen. 1:28 “...“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””

We begin to understand people, as Bob Kellemen asks, “Who are we?” “What makes people tick?” Or “Whose are we?” “In what story do we find ourselves?”

Here in Genesis we see man placed in the beautiful Garden of Eden (Ge 2:15) to work it and keep it.

Work came before the fall, and it is good—a blessing—for us to work, keep, maintain and make things thrive as part of The Masculine Mandate (as Richard D. Phillips titled his excellent book).

But more wonderful than work was the perfect helper and partner God created for and from Adam…Eve. “Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” (Ge 2:22-23)

And for this beautiful companionship we received the institution of marriage—where one man and one woman (as biologically created by God) are to hold fast to one another and become one flesh forever.

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“And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” (Ge 2:25)

Transition: Unfortunately this would be the end of life without shame as we degenerate quickly.

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B. Degeneration (Genesis 3-11)

We’re thrust into chps 3-11 with the word, “Now,” indicating a massive pivot in the story line of humanity. It’s like the suspenseful music in a movie when an attacker lurks, sneaking up on his victim.

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Genesis 3:1–2 (ESV)

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?

The first man (Adam) and woman (Eve) sin. They distrust God’s motives and words and break His protective commands.

Whose words will you believe in this world? God’s or Satan’s?

We ask: “What is truth?” “Where can we find answers?” In other words, “Where do we find wisdom for life in a broken world?”

In your belief system, whose truth holds ultimate sway, God’s truth or “your truth”?

Adam and Eve believe Satan’s deception and sin as they desire to “be like God” (Gen. 3:5), so they choose sin.

Their inner belief that they know best answers the question we still face today as we seek to diagnose the problems in our own heart and the world around us:

“What went wrong?” “Why do we do the things we do?” “What’s the root source of our problem?”

We see that sin has grave consequences and the world experiences then experiences an onslaught of wickedness that affects the ground, Adam and Eve’s children, and everyone born since Adam (except One—Jesus Christ).”

You may feel it now from time to time, or you may live under a cloud of shame from regret, hoping no one will see your spiritual nakedness. But God sees.

But even in judgment, God judges and covers.

He promises a Savior through Eve, the first one to sin (3:15).

Judgment: sin always brings God’s judgment.

In Genesis 4-9 it comes in the form of the flood as God wipes our nearly every human and animal from the face of the earth.

In one of the saddest verses in all of the Bible we see God’s grief over sin:

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Genesis 6:5–6 ESV

5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

God then determines to judge the world through a flood that would destroy the whole world that God had made.

But God…establishes a covenant with Noah (Gen 6:18), showing mercy through unconditional election as he saves Noah and his family through the ark where God would “shut them in” for the duration of the flood.

Noah’s faith/belief in unseen things leads him to choose to honor God, so he did all that God commanded him (Gen. 6:22).

After the flood subsides and God keeps his promise to establish a covenant promise never to destroy the earth in that way again.

He put his bow in the sky…the rainbow…God’s symbol (which no one else can co-opt for their own sinful purposes).

God has shown mercy to mankind, even through judgment.

Not much time goes by before mankind again desires to be like God, seeking to make a name for themselves.

God will not stand for glory thieves. He alone is God and it is right that He alone receive all glory, honor and praise.

Beginning with one language, they worked together to build a tower at Babel, but God again judges them and disperses them over the face of the earth (Gen. 11:9)

There’s a powerful phrase here, as Moses highlights that while mankind thought they were building a pretty tall tower, God still “came down to see” (Gen 11:5).

Our greatest moments of pride, when we think we’re all that, we are nowhere near the perfect heights of the glory of the Almighty God.

Even in judgment, however we already see many times over that God is the one who both judges and protects. Human sin must be punished, yet God protects people from themselves and from one another.

Transition: We see God’s creative handiwork in GENERATION, followed by mankind’s quick DEGENERATION, but even this is marked by God’s grace, leading ultimately to God’s REGENERATION where He begins to fulfill the promise he made to send a Savior to crush the serpent.

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C. Regeneration (Genesis 12-50)

Genesis 12 marks a noticeable change in pace as the narrative divisions, while no less important, take up many more chapters as God traces the storyline of His people to bolster the confidence of Joshua and the Israelites.

Act I: Creation—In the Beginning

Act II: Fall—The End of the Beginning

Act III: Redemption—Eternity Invades Time

to Genesis 12-50 focus on Abraham and his family (12-25 focus on Abraham; and 26-36 largely on his grandson Jacob; and 37-50 zoom in on Jacob’s son Joseph)

Act IV: Church—In the Fullness of Time

Scripture reading

Abraham (12-24)

Through Abraham we see the beginnings of justification by faith, which is accredited to him as righteousness Gen 15 and Hebrews tell us.

The God who calls and promises, then works to fulfill those promises through extraordinary means begins to be seen more and more.

Abraham becomes the focal point of God’s redemptive work in regeneration.

Even in his faith, Abram (later Abraham), and Sarai have weak faith when present with circumstances beyond their control.

But God is still gracious to go the extra years to prove that only God could accomplish the plan of regeneration He has in mind.

Isaac is born to Abraham when he was 100 years old! (Gen 21) And from God’s promise to bless all the people of the earth through Abram, the Lord continues to show himself faithful.

But God would test Abraham beyond imagination as he tells him to sacrifice Isaac, the son of promise.

Abraham knew that delayed obedience is disobedience so this time he was on the move early, believing that God would raise Isaac from the dead.

Fully intent on killing his son, Abraham must have breathed a sigh of relief when the angel stayed his hand and the Lord provided a ram for the sacrifice.

Together they walked down the mount where the Lord provided a sacrifice.

Isaac (24-36)

In Gen 24-36 we see one of the most beautiful love stories with Isaac and Rebekah. (We men have much to learn from Isaac as he worked for 14-years (7 more than he’d originally intended).

Isaac then fathers Jacob and Esau with a feud that begins before they ever depart from the womb.

But God had chosen Jacob, one of the two nations who would be stronger, the younger son who would be served by the older Esau.

Jacob (27-36)

Even though Isaac desired to give his blessing to Esau, the older son, Jacob—the scoundrel that he was—tricked his father and now twice connived and deceived to take his brother’s blessing. And the Lord’s promise to make a great nation through the descendants of Abraham continues.

Gen 28-36 portrays God as the one who elects and protects. No clearer case of divine election exists in Scripture than God’s choice of Jacob. This painfully human man becomes the bearer of God’s most precious promises. The picture continues to become very clear that this book is not about our wonderful forefathers. Genesis is the Unshakable Foundation that God is a promise-making God who keeps every promise.

Jacob’s wit and determination ultimately lead to a man with a limp, as Jacob wrestles with God until the Lord touched the socket of Jacob’s hip, causing it to be put out of joint.

“Bless me,” Jacob cried. “I will not let go until you bless me.” (Ge 32:26)

And Jacob becomes Israel, which means “He strives with God.”

Joseph (37-50)

Lastly, Genesis 37–50 sets forth the God who preserves the covenant people. No threat, however severe, can thwart the Lord’s plans for Abraham’s family. The Creator’s purposes for creation will be upheld through the lives of these particular creatures.

“How do we find peace in the midst of life’s most painful, confusing and hopeless circumstances?” Look no further than the sovereign, purposeful leading of the One True God.

A foolish bragger sold into slavery (as the better option to killing him), the Ishmaelites took Joseph to Egypt.

There he was wrongly accused of sexual sin, thrown in prison to be where God wanted him to interpret two prisoners’ dreams. When one was released, he’d forgotten the promise he made to tell Pharoah about Joseph in prison.

He remained there until the Pharoah had another set of dreams to interpret. Only then did the cupbearer remember Joseph. In other words, God kept Joseph in prison for the right moment to get him out, so he’d be right where God needed him to be.

My niece wrote a piece for a magazine she edits (that I received this week) where she said, “You know, God has taken me places, and he’s also kept me places.” How true that is.

Have you been there, stuck, confused and wondering why God has kept you from being in a place you may believe to be better? It is not by accident. Our sovereign Lord has a purpose in it.

There Joseph was, “stuck” in Egypt.

How? Because of the Ishmaelites? Well, yes. And no. The last chapter of Genesis tells us Joseph’s redeemed perspective.

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“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.” (Gen 50:20)

What good? Ultimately so he’d bless the Pharoah by interpreting his dreams, be put in charge as Pharoah’s 2nd in command in order to bring his family to Egypt where he ultimately forgives his brothers for the harm done to him in one of the more beautiful pictures of forgiveness we will ever see.

Do you see how Joseph’s inner life increasingly began to reflect the mercy and grace of God? We call this progressive sanctification, and it happens when we are regenerated, made knew by experiencing God’s grace personally. Often through hardship God sovereignly weaves godly character through us. It’s mixed with our humanness, to be sure, but as the light of circumstances shine on us we begin to see increasing glimmers of grace shining from us, pointing to our Creator God and why we were made for the very purposes God has established for us, and given all the power and every necessary resource to insure victory through faith.

Conclusion

Moses then seamlessly connects Genesis to Exodus as God sovereignly brought His people to Egypt for the next phase of His miracle-working master plan.

If you’re leading two-million refugees into a land with many giants, trying to size up this earthly situation, this Unshakeable Foundation would be just what you need—and we’ve only scratched the surface!

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Proposition: Since God is the self-existent, eternal Creator and only King, we must all give our whole lives/hearts to worship Him.

Communion transition & prayer

Proposition