If you desire a full summary of our session for ‘Thinking through the Bible’ on Sunday mornings, send your request by email to carlsonpj@gmail.com. This blog is a summary of what Paul presented, as well as what others shared during the session. If you are teaching this to others, you may want to read the full set of notes available to you in order to give your students more guidelines.
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
How much have you really been ‘thinking’ while reading Genesis? Let’s take a quick quiz:
- What time of the day was Adam created?
- At what season did Eve eat the fruit?
- What was Eve’s telephone number?
- Who introduced the first walking stick?
Charts & Maps
The charts and maps used in our sessions are available to you by requesting them in an email to us – we will make electronic copies available to you. If you attend our session you may request printed copies. There is one chart (in three parts) used throughout the Old Testament. The following maps are available for Genesis:
· Chronological Map 1: Modern Political Borders of the OT world
· The World of the Patriarchs (including Abraham’s route)
· The Ancient World showing the descendents of Noah’s sons
· Abraham’s journey in detail
· Land of Canaan during the Patriarchs
MEMORY
Let us recite the Books of the Bible in chronological order through the OT Books of Poetry (Genesis – Song of Solomon).
What do you see in this picture?
Let us remember that in our ‘Thinking through the Bible’ we are looking at God’s Story, and sometimes only noticing the ‘shadows’ before putting the entire ‘picture’ together.
THE PENTATEUCH
The Bible is made up of 66 Books. The first five are known as the ‘Pentateuch’, simply meaning a ‘five-volume book’. The Bible gives these Books such names as ‘the law’, ‘the book of the law of God’, and ‘the book of Moses’. Think of these five Books as a single book filled with God’s Story about His creation of the universe, and how He brought salvation to households, which He illustrates in His relationship with individuals, households, and a nation. His Story shows how He gave instructions to these people the ways in which they could relate to a holy and righteous God.
A prominent theme throughout the Pentateuch is ‘God’s faithfulness’. Four major themes flow through the story to demonstrate God’s faithfulness:
· ‘Election’: In their perfect relationship with God, Adam and Eve exercised their wills to disobey God. The entire creation became corrupted with sin, including their ‘free wills’. God dealt with this by choosing Jacob (name changed to Israel) as the father of all those who depend in faith on God rather than their own will. Everywhere throughout God’s Story, God’s choices do not contradict human choices and the resulting consequences. What is important in reading God’s Story is to notice that Scripture gives more attention to the will of God than to the will of people. When the story refers to human will, it usually describes it in negative forms, whereas God’s will emphasizes His good pleasure. And throughout the story people are held responsible for their choices.
· ‘Covenant’: To the Hebrew people of the Pentateuch a covenant covered all human relationships. It was not a strange concept even before the law. It was the bond that united people in mutual obligations, be it a marriage contract, a business venture, or a verbal agreement. It was not a strange concept for God to demonstrate His relationship with them through a covenant. The difference was that God’s covenant was not between equal parties, but between a greater and a lesser partner. There are two attributes of God demonstrated in the covenant: (1) mercy – compassion for the miserable; withholding what we deserve; and (2) sovereignty – absolute right to relate according to His good pleasure. Share what you think it was like to receive God’s mercy and sovereignty. Think of walking with Adam and Eve (as someone said, Eve received much mercy); think of building with Noah; think of traveling with Abraham and Sarah; think of the responses of individuals in Abraham’s household; think of God’s titles such as a ‘Shield’, and ‘Almighty’.
· ‘Law’: The law of God is central to the story throughout the Pentateuch. This collection of laws related in three central ways: (1) They related everything to ‘one’ God, so that any belief in plural gods threatened the relationship with the true God; (2) They showed concern for the underprivileged, such as women, strangers, slaves, and orphans; (3) They created a community spirit so that all Hebrews could share in God’s covenant. This did not stop with the Hebrews, but was extended to any foreigner joining them
· ‘Exodus’: The great saving act of God for the Hebrews recorded in the Pentateuch is the exodus from bondage in Egypt. God proved His supremacy over all other gods through this deliverance.
Sin was no surprise to God. He was prepared for it. But this takes us to the beginning of God’s Story…
GENESIS
‘When there was a beginning, God already was.’ Elohim was there as the ‘uni-plural Godhead’, showing us that already present was God the ‘Creator’, God the ‘Son’, and God the ‘Holy Spirit’. What responses do you have to the knowledge that before there was a beginning God already was?
Some shared: God was there first because He always was; It’s a letter, ‘Dear (your name), I have you covered, Love God’; It is reassuring that God is always the same.
Without Genesis our knowledge of the creating God would be pitifully limited. God gives us an account of creation as a whole, and then makes the effort to give details of the creation of the human race. The world of matter was first; the system of life was next; and humankind was the climax of creation. The creation scene opens in a chaotic darkness, with the ‘Spirit’ hovering over the water, keeping them under control. We are not told ‘when’ creation took place. Nor are we given the details as to ‘how’ God brought the earth and life into being, other than that God said, “Let there be…” As each new account is given, God’s work begins with some form of His creative words, “Let there be…” At the end of each of His utterances, there is some form of the statement, “and it was so.”
We do know, however, that God was pleased with His creation to such an extent that ‘He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.’ As much as Mark Twain said, “Man was made at the end of the week’s work, when God was tired”, we know that God ceased to work, not because He was tired, but because His work of creation was done. He provides humankind with a model for the cycle of labor and rest.
Many focus on the ‘how’ of creation. When we read and think through God’s Story, it becomes apparent that the focus is on God, so that when we read:
· That ‘God’ created, it denies atheism with its teaching that there is no God; and it denies polytheism with its teaching that there are many gods.
· That God ‘created’, it denies fatalism with its teaching of ‘chance’; and it denies evolution with its teaching of infinite ‘becoming’.
· That God created the ‘heaven and earth’, it denies pantheism, which makes God and the universe one and the same thing; and it denies materialism, which says that matter is central to life.
· “Let there be…” and there was, denies pre-existing material so that God created from nothing as an omnipotent and omnipresent God.
· That God ‘created man in His own image’, which establishes humanity in a special relationship with God. This ‘likeness’ to God is so basic to man’s structure that the fall into sin did not destroy it. Genesis 2 uses a different title for God. It moves from ‘Elohim’, which is ‘God the Creator’, to ‘Yahweh Elohim’, which is ‘God in relation to His people’.
· That ‘a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’, which establishes that the marriage covenant begins with leaving all other relationships, in order to cleave, so that they become one flesh. As someone said, ‘Marriage is leaving, cleaving, and weaving! Our English confuses us because it gives two meanings to ‘cleave’: the first means to ‘split’ and the second means to ‘cling’. Mix these up and we’re in trouble in our relationships! Some translations say ‘be joined’, but sadly some read it as ‘be disjointed’! It is worthy to note that it was the ‘Lord God’ who said that it was “not good that man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). It was not Adam’s idea that he was alone. As much as God took care of Adam’s aloneness by “making a helper comparable to him” (Genesis 2:18), he needed help to fulfill God’s command in Genesis 1:28: “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion… over every living thing…” What follows the ‘therefore’ of Genesis 2:24 is the means for Adam and Eve to obey the command to ‘be fruitful’ and ‘have dominion’.
What attributes of God are evident as He created?
Some shared: He is ‘Wisdom’ – He held things together; He is ‘Perfection’, ‘Beauty’, ‘Provider’, and He ‘sees His creation’.
How does it make you feel when ‘God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good’ (Genesis 1:31)? What kinds of relationships do you see developing?
Some shared: God ensured that everything He created was ‘’good’ – that is awesome; it is reassuring that God not only created ‘man’, but also ‘woman’, for it says He created ‘them’; Satan was created good, but wanted equality with God; God gave mankind and the angels a choice; God rested and took time to reflect upon His creation and enjoy it; we need to rest to enjoy our work – sleep is good; it can be scary to think of God as omnipotent (all-powerful) and omnipresent (everywhere).
In the middle of the Garden of Eden was the ‘tree of life’, which indicates God’s presence as central to human existence. In the presence of God Adam and Eve chose evil over good. The second tree is ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’, which indicates the existence of evil. God forbid them from partaking of this tree for them to know that they did not have to learn evil by experience. Sin complicates things! How do you respond to the question almost everyone asks at some time and in one way or another: “Where did evil come from?” There is no biblical support that God is the ‘author’ of evil in the sense of being the ‘agent’ of it, or being accountable for it. Yet, we know from Genesis 50:20 that Joseph understood people do the sinning, and are responsible for it, even though God is entitled to use evil for good. What do you think it was like to be separated from God because of sin, both for Adam and Eve, and God? How do you respond to God’s call to Adam, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). And to the question to Eve, “What is this you have done?” (Genesis 3:13).
Some shared: God wanted Adam and Eve to think about what they had done; the questions do not have to do with God, but with Adam and Eve; the questions from God shows Adam and Eve accountable to their Creator; Eve took things into her own hands, showing pride; we try to help God a little; God has His way and we want to make it happen; somehow Adam learned about sacrifices; until the Fall, there was one rule: do not eat…; the ‘tree of life’ shows that we were not intended to die; if they partook of the tree they would live in sin forever; when we ask where evil came from, it is like asking where God came from; evil is a matter of fact, and maybe we don’t need to know more; evil does let us see the full glory of God; those who lived in Genesis seemed satisfied to know that evil existed without questioning its origin; evil is the opposite of good; evil is illustrated in the Bible more than it is defined; when I try to understand the source and consequence of evil, all I need to do is look at my own life; evil may be the absence of God; when Eve took her focus off God, she sinned – so it is with us; we complain so much about creation that it seems like there is nothing we can appreciate anymore;
God is the center of the Bible, and we are privileged to see Him revealed in many ways. We learn of Him as a merciful God when He gives the solution to evil by telling the devil that through the woman he deceived, there would one day come a ‘Seed’ that will destroy him. Genesis 3:15 is the first promise to fallen mankind. To trace the line of this seed in Genesis, we need simply pay attention in the story’s reference to the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Can you imagine what went through Eve’s mind when she heard God speak about a ‘Seed’ through her?
Some shared: the ‘Seed’ was the seed of life; it provided Eve with hope; the story seems to indicate that Cain and then her other children, could be that promise of a ‘Seed’;
Along with the first family came the first murder! Cain’s attitude toward God cost his brother Abel his life, and it links Cain to the devil. Cain is consigned to judgment by alienating him from the ground and from society. We have the first description of worship in the behavior of Cain and Abel. The ‘offering’ brought by the brothers means ‘tribute’, which is a gift of an inferior to a superior. Each brother brought a tribute appropriate to his vocation. God was entitled to the first share produced by plants and by animals, and the best of what a worshiper had to offer. Abel brought both the first and the best; Cain brought neither. The worshiper and his offering are inseparable: God favored Abel and his gift; He did not look with favor on Cain and his gift. The reason is given in Genesis 4:7 (NLT): “Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Cain’s anger led him to murder his brother, showing that there is a very short step from rebellion against God to bloodshed. How did Cain subsequently relate to his family? How do you think Cain’s parents related to him as a murderer? How did God subsequently relate to Cain?
Some shared: Eve felt the pain of her son’s death, and maybe understood something of God’s feeling of hurt; the parents very possibly felt responsible for their son’s sin; the things that trouble me about my own children is what I see of myself; the story so far does not explain what ‘type’ of offering God expected, but it does explain that Cain yielded to sin, which led to his anger; it seems that the focus is on the attitude of the one bringing the offering; the type of offering was a tribute, and so does not necessarily focus on a sacrifice for sin, but on thanksgiving.
Cain started the first civilization. Six generations of his family are given in Genesis 4. Remember that generations in the Pentateuch varied from one hundred years in the time of Abraham, and as the story develops, they are reduced to thirty-eight years. Genesis 5 sets the scene by giving the genealogy of Adam. The genealogies do not tell us the years between Adam and the Flood. But the taint of sin and its deadly stamp on the human personality remained all too clear.
Modern readers of biblical genealogies should be aware of the way in which familiar terms were used, such as:
· ‘Father’: not always one who bore children; could simply denote a learned, older man who was not even a relative.
· ‘Mother’: could be a symbolic description of a woman who exercised the love and care normally given by mothers.
· ‘Son’: could actually be a grandson or a great-grandson.
· ‘Daughter’: could be bound together by a treaty.
‘Now it came to pass…’ (Genesis 6:1) gives a clue to the family line of Adam: ‘Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great… and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually...’ (Genesis 6:5). It was time for the Lord to grieve deeply over the evil state of humanity. What is it like for God to be ‘sorry’ that He had created man on the earth?
Some shared: if we know how God feels about sin, and that He does not respond just with anger but with real pain, it would keep us from sin; we think of our own emotions, but don’t think of God’s – we need to really think about how God felt; when God was ‘sorry’ He was grieved, heartbroken, and filled with regret; when we focus only on our emotions, we forget that we are made in God’s ‘likeness’, which include His emotions; our God is a patient and merciful God who gives us a way out of sin; when we realize how much our sin causes God to sorrow, it is a good time for us to partake of communion and reflect on God’s work. This ended our session, so we will pick up with the flood next time, and this blog will be updated with comments.
Outward temptation encountered by Adam and Eve degenerated into inward temptation: the ‘thoughts’ of his heart (Genesis 6:5). God began taking the step toward a chosen nation by separating the righteous from the wicked. He did this through a flood. Noah’s first act on exiting the ark marked his faith in God. The way of approach to God was still by the altar of sacrifice. Genesis 8:21 indicates that the Lord received the ‘satisfying’ aroma. As with all covenants God makes, His agreement was not solely with Noah, but with “you and with your descendants after you…” It continues to include “every living creature that is with you…” (Genesis 9:9). God’s covenants are with ‘households’, thus binding His people together. God repeats His command to Adam and Eve: ‘So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1).
Even a completely fresh start does not change people. The shameful story of Noah’s drunkenness leads God’s Story into an earth united with one language against God. Hopefully, you don’t really believe the legend promoted by the seventeenth-century Swedish writer, Andreas Kempe, that in the Garden of Eden God spoke Swedish and Adam spoke Danish, and the serpent spoke French! Human rebellion is demonstrated by the attempt to build the tower of Babel in an effort to be independent of God. ‘Babel’ means ‘gate of God’. In His mercy, the Lord spread the nations with different languages according to Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Human unity increases rebellion against God! What would it be like to no longer be able to communicate with your own brother?
There are five patriarchal fathers: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Job (not mentioned in Genesis, but it is suggested he fits just after Genesis 11:26, possibly making him forty years old at Noah’s death). Genesis easily falls into two main sections: God’s dealings with humans in general (chs. 1-11); God’s dealings with those He has chosen to be His special people (chs. 12-50). This is a good place to stop and look forward as God’s Story continues with another covenant.
Continue reading and thinking through Genesis, and continue into Exodus…
Answers to quiz: (1) A little before Eve (2) Early in the Fall (3) Adam 812 (4) Eve, when she gave Adam a little ‘Cain’ (cane)
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