This will not be a rehash of creation/evolution. Although you know how much I love to debate and discuss creation. I discuss with like minded, and we “debate” with the ubiquitous “them” who believe in evolution, or no God, or both. This is what you might call shadow boxing, but it is good to perfect technique.
If you desire to debate or discuss evolution, contact me and we will carry that on outside this forum. Our desire here is to find God’s messages, embedded in this first Word from an Omnipotent God Who chose to step out of eternity and interact with mortals in the framework we call time. It must be important.
This first foray into the book will be a lightning rush through the entirety of the book to see where everything is and how it fits. Those of you who have been with me through Revelation know that we can get lost in the time line. Maybe I should amend my Revelation studies to include such an overview. In fact, I did teach Revelation one time in a one hour shot. And it was literally a shot. We started off at a sprint and grabbed the tail of a rocket to reach the end. We made it. Likewise the same overview of Genesis will help make sense of the whole story.
Paul Harvey used to teach the “Rest of the Story,” by finishing the popular stories that we all knew. The finishing, or “filling in” details fleshed out the picture and made the story a lot more understandable, and memorable. That is usually a good idea for any presentation that does not depend upon mystery for its impact. (Although Colombo made a career of telling us “who dunit” and then following the trail of proof. I will let you in on a little secret. Colombo knew who the killer was the first time he met him or her. So he, like we, knew who the killer was. He just had to accumulate the proof. But I digress.)
Genesis has five grand themes. First is the Beginning. How did everything come to be? This includes the universe, people, and sin. And, the promise of the Messiah Who would remedy the sin problem. Once that palette was in place, God could begin to tell the story. Genesis 4 begins the “How’s that working for you?*” stage that will actually continue to the end of Revelation. (*Dr Phil.) The first recorded sin is murder. Well, maybe envy (coveting) and hatred came first, but this is the first “visible” sin. And we have devolved from there. (Sorry could not resist.) This chapter also begins to “invisible” or at least stealth campaign of Satan to destroy this Godly Seed and thus frustrate God’s plan. We will follow this fascinating story from Genesis to Revelation. Buckle up, Buttercup.
Chapter 5 lists the generations of people. (2) This was given to help us trace the godly line. It also highlights the “ungldly line” just in case someone gets confused. Chapter 6 illuminates the attack by Satan to not only block the Godly line, but an attack on the entire population. God’s “response” is deliver Noah and his family from the debauchery and devilish society. This deliverance is both figurative and literal, as the rest of the population is completely excised from the earth. (Chap 6-9)
Chapter 10 begins the narrative again, only from Noah on to the next development. (3) Genesis 11 recounts Satan’s second attack on the godly line. This is the well known Tower of Babel. Though subtle, Satan was focusing on the godly line by subverting worship from God to man. They were developing their own “church” or religion as an alternative to what was delivered to Adam and Noah. As a result, God scattered the population throughout the world. (Hint: We will also marvel and wonder that Satan’s attacks always work towards completing God’s ultimate plan. They are the Old Testament illustration of Romans 8:28. “God works all things together for good....”
Out of the cloud of confusion from Babel rises Abraham. (4) (End of chapter 11 through 25/27. ) It introduces him, then follows him through his interactions with God up to the separation of Jacob from the family and Esau. In this way it continues the narrative of God’s building the family line. Isaac might be considered a separate point or a sub-point in Abraham’s story. It led to the birth of Jacob. (4b: 25-27) Satan’s attacks on Abraham were numerous and they continued on Jacob. One “bad” thing about prophesy, is that it alerts Satan to what is going to happen. He understands and believes prophesy and therefore knew that Jacob was the next step. (5) He attacked Jacob. But it also illuminates God’s care and protection in all circumstances.
Next, Jacob returns to his ancestral home, Haran, to build his family. (Chapter 28-50) But God did not want him to remain there. Satan’s attacks through Jacob’s father in law, Laban, actually “worked” to propel him back to Canaan, the promised land. Jacob’s story carries us all the way to Egypt, with a subset being the story of Joseph. (5b) (Chapters 37-50)
That’s it! We have covered Genesis in five (or seven if you count the subsets) major movements. It is actually a symphony of God’s interactions with His creation and specifically the people and family He chose to bring about salvation for the entire world. That is why Revelation is so exciting. It culminates this deliverance for the world and give us a glimpse of “what’s next.” Genesis gives us a foundation to understand the rest of the Bible’s accounts of God’s interactions with this creation and people.
What a story. I can hardly wait. Join me.
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