The Word of God; Part II

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”-Genesis 1:1

God’s book opens with the unseen LORD bringing what can be seen into existence.  The word Genesis means beginnings.  In the first book of the Bible, we learn the origins of human beings, sin, death, and God’s plan to bring his created beings back into fellowship with him.

Adam And Eve:  Before the days of creation, the earth was dark, “without form and void,”-Genesis 1:2.  God brought order to a world that needed light, life, time, and seasons.  “The LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,”-Genesis 2:7.  “God created man in his own image…male and female he created them.”-Genesis 1:27.  God and man were in harmony.  Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden where the tree of life grew.  They were given one law, “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.”-Genesis 2:17.

Satan enters the scene in chapter three.  The serpent tempted Eve with the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life (Genesis 3:6; I John 2:16).  What she desired, she made a decision to take.  She ate.  Adam ate.  Sin came into the world and with it death (Genesis 5:5; Romans 5:12).  Adam and Eve’s sin separated them from God.  The rest of the Bible is the story of God providing a way for people to be reconciled to him.

Noah And The Flood:  Beginning in chapter six, the book of Genesis records the great flood which extinguished every breathing creature.  God saved only eight people in an ark built by a man named Noah.  God’s judgement on the world for wickedness came through water in Noah’s time.  The LORD promised never to destroy the earth with water again.  The rainbow is the sign of His covenant with mankind (Genesis 9:13).  After the flood, God scattered Noah’s descendants over the face of the earth by confusing their language after they tried to build a tower to the heavens at Babel (Genesis 11:1-9).

The Promise To 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.’”-Genesis 12:1.  Abram, whose name God changed to Abraham, was old and had no children.  The LORD promised to give him a son.  Through that son (Isaac), God swore he would produce a great nation, give them a land, and bless the world by one of Abraham’s offspring (Genesis 12:2-3; 22:17-18).  Abraham’s descendants became the nation of Israel.  God gave them the land of Canaan.  Jesus, the Savior of all mankind, was born to an Israelite and indeed blessed the world (Galatians 3:16, 25-29).

Abraham believed God, left his home, and lived a life of obedient faith (Romans 4:16; Hebrews 11:8-10).  He and his wife Sarah had a son named Isaac.  Isaac’s son Jacob received the blessing of his father (Genesis 26:4; 27:15-35).  God changed Jacob’s name to Israel.   Jacob’s 12-sons and their descendants became known as the nation of Israel.

Into Egypt:  Jacob’s favoritism of his son Joseph provoked his brothers to jealousy.  Joseph’s siblings stripped him of his coat of many colors, sold him into Egyptian slavery, and convinced Jacob his prized son was dead (Genesis 37:1-36).  Through a series of miracles and dreams, the LORD elevated Joseph from slave and prisoner to second in command over all Egypt.  Joseph was guided by God to make wise decisions in preparation for a famine which lasted seven years (Genesis 41:53-57).

Joseph’s journey into Egypt began in suffering but ended in salvation for him and his family, “do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.”-Genesis 45:5.  Pharaoh invited Joseph’s family to live in Egypt.  Jacob, Joseph, and their family were reunited in a country where fewer than 100-people would grow into a great nation.  As God told Abraham, 400-years later they would make an Exodus from Egypt (Genesis 15:13).  We will meet Moses in our next chapter.

The Word of God; Part III