Genesis is one of the most important books in the Bible, if not the most important one. Many people would argue with this statement as they view Genesis as an outdated creation myth full of strange stories and a dysfunctional family. However, the eyes of faith will see a different picture of human history, which started in happiness and perfection before being marred by distrust of the Creator and selfish grasping for power. Genesis then gives the promise of renewed happiness, but also describes the roller coaster of violence that careens the human race from one disaster to another as they embrace self and reject God. Finally, Genesis details the beginning journey of one family on their rocky road out of apostasy and into faith. Yes, the family is dysfunctional like all fallen humans, but through following Yahweh on a path away from idol worship and towards the Promised Land, this family paves the way for the salvation of all people.
Genesis is important for a variety of reasons. It is the first book of the whole Bible and is referred to in the rest of scripture more times than any other book. The themes and theology of the rest of the Bible all have their origin in Genesis. This book reveals where we have come from and answers our questions about why the world is in its dark and evil condition. Genesis also points forward to a future where the serpent that has corrupted the world will be crushed out of existence by a bruised seed of the woman. Without the background knowledge of Genesis, much of the rest of scripture will not make sense.
Author:
Who wrote Genesis? Jesus’ testimony, tradition, and evidence from the text all point to Moses as the author of Genesis. In fact, Moses’ authorship was viewed as solid fact until the skeptical scholars of the 19th century arrogantly proclaimed that the book was written by several people using different sources. Today, however, scholarship has refuted these claims by pointing out that the language is coherent throughout the book. In other words, the same vocabulary, grammar, and syntax is used consistently. This would not be true if there were multiple authors over multiple time periods. Also, the author of Genesis was familiar with times and customs of antiquity. Finally, one of the last phrases in Genesis is repeated in the book of Exodus, which Moses also wrote.
Who was Moses? Exodus tells us many answers to this question as it is a kind of autobiography of Moses’ life, as well as being the story of the path to freedom for the children of Israel. In addition, archaeology has answered more questions about Moses. Moses was a slave born about 1530 B.C. during a time when the descendants of Abraham were being greatly oppressed in Egypt. In fact, he never should have survived because of an edict by Pharaoh Thutmose I declaring that all male Hebrew babies must be killed. His mother and father hid him for as long as possible, and then when the family could hide him no more, they came up with a plan to put him in a basket and float him down the Nile in front of Pharaoh’s daughter. The plan worked, and the daughter declared that this gift of the Nile was her son. Who was Moses’ adopted mother? Hatshepsut, who would later be the only woman pharaoh to rule Egypt. Moses’ birth mother was recruited to take care of him for a time. Evidently, this time was long enough for her to teach him to faithfully serve Yahweh. Hebrews 11:24 tells us that a time came when Moses had to choose between the gods of Egypt and the God of Israel. He chose Yahweh and by that choice, he was not able to inherit the throne of Egypt. He ended up fleeing Egypt after killing an Egyptian who was abusing a Hebrew slave. He spent forty years as a shepherd in the land of Midian before God called him to return to Egypt to lead the children of Israel to freedom. Did Moses write the book of Genesis during his stay in Midian? Or was it written during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness? That question is not answered in either the Bible or by archaeology.
Organization:
Genesis begins with a world that has no form until the Creator begins to move and design a land of beauty and goodness. Chapters one through three trace the beginnings of earth and the loss of innocence of the first two humans. There are many people today who view this account of history as a myth. Even many Christians try to explain away the Biblical account of creation with theistic evolution, never understanding that in trying to wed scriptural truth with worldly theory, they have painted a picture of a God who would use the cruel processes of death to create His ”perfect” world. In embracing evolution as their doctrine of creation, these believers are reinforcing the lies told by the serpent in the garden that God is not good, and His word cannot be trusted. There is no space in this essay to delineate the evidence refuting the evolutionary theory and supporting creation, but there is a great deal available. Try looking on sites like Geoscience Research Institute at https://www.grisda.org/ for more information. Interestingly, as the complexity of DNA has been understood, an increasing number of non-Christian scientists are rejecting Darwin’s ideas of evolution and looking for alternative theories to explain the origins of mankind. For Christians, there is more than enough scientific evidence supporting a literal seven-day creation, so there is no need to try to meld Darwin with Genesis in some kind of bastardized creation/evolutionary theory. The Genesis account can be taken literally from both a faith perspective and a scientific perspective. This is true also of the worldwide flood described in Genesis.
Genesis begins with the origins of the world and the fall of mankind, but then it goes on to describe how that first step of distrusting God led to murder and increasing violence until the world reached a point where God had to take drastic steps in order to save the human race from extinction. Many people view the flood account as God becoming angry and wiping out His rebellious children, except for His favored son Noah. However, a careful reading of the scriptures shows instead that this was a rescue mission in order to preserve humanity. Unfortunately, we carried sin with us onto the ark and when Noah and his family exited the boat, they brought both their faith and their perversions out with them. Soon, humanity began to sink into self-destructive behaviors once more.
Chapters one through eleven take the reader from creation to the tower of Babel, where the unity of a common language was lost. Humanity descended into idol worship and ignorance. Out of this confusion and darkness, a ray of light appeared—a man willing to follow God based on his trust in God’s promises. Abram was not any more perfect than Noah had been, but like Noah, he was willing to obey God. Thus, a new rescue mission for humanity was launched, not on a boat, but through a family who would bless the world. Chapters twelve through fifty describe the first phase of the journey that this family would travel as they fumbled their way into clearer and clearer knowledge of Abraham’s God and kept the light of the knowledge of Yahweh lit in a world darkened with superstition and perversion.
Themes:
One theme in Genesis is the concept of history. Genesis lifts the veil and shows God working in our past. Humans do not exist alone in this world. There are supernatural forces at work also. History is not simply a hodgepodge of random events that happen for no reason. There is a guiding hand interacting in human lives attempting to bring us into light and out of darkness. Genesis reminds us that we are not alone and that we have a God who can take us safely through darkness and flood and famine and slavery and enemies and being a foreigner in a strange land if we will only trust Him and follow where He leads.
A second theme of Genesis focuses on birth. The book starts with the birth of a world. After sin enters the picture, God promises the birth of a Savior from the woman’s seed in Genesis 3:15. Later, a promised son is born of an old barren woman named Sarah. Before the birth of her twins, Rebekah consults God to find out why her pregnancy feels so strange. Jacob’s wives seem to have a competition of birthing babies in order to win his favor. He ends up with twelve sons and a new name, Israel. Thus, the birth of a nation is accomplished in the births of the children of Israel. Genealogies abound in Genesis from Adam to Israel. These lists of births give us detailed information that allow us to calculate the times of historical events and even the age of the earth. They are the glue that holds together the various disconnected stories from creation to Abraham. The genealogies show changes that occur as sin takes its toll from the description of the first bigamous marriage to the shortening of lifespans after the flood. Genesis is a book of beginnings, and the theme of birth is part of those beginnings.
A third theme is that of movement. Sin causes Adam and Eve to have to leave their garden paradise. After the flood, God commands the people to move out and populate the earth. Instead, they choose to congregate in the land of Shinar until God Himself disperses them. Abraham is called out of Ur to the promised land. Israel and his family leave the promised land to settle in Egypt under Joseph’s protection. However, the book ends with the information that the children of Israel will someday return to the land that they have been promised. Genesis is not a book about settling in one place and remaining there. Instead, it is a book of being wayfarers in strange lands and depending upon God to guide His people through the twists and turns that their journeys take.
As with all of the Bible, the book of Genesis focuses on salvation. When Adam and Eve are hiding in fear, God comes and brings hope. When mankind is self-destructing in violence, God instructs Noah to build an ark and populates it with animals so that the world can survive the deluge to come. When Sarai is in Egypt, it is God who rescues her from Pharaoh, not Abram. When Hagar is alone in the desert, it is God who sends an angel to rescue her, not once but twice! Even in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, angels are sent to find any righteous people who are willing to follow them out of the cities before the eternal fire descends upon them. Again and again, Genesis describes how humans mess up and pervert their societies and how God rescues them. The ultimate lesson of Genesis is that God provides salvation, not mankind. Nowhere is this lesson taught most clearly than when Abraham is first asked to sacrifice his son and then halted at the last minute. In this experience, Abraham understood the lesson clearly that God will provide. Thus, any story in Genesis must be read through the lens of God’s desire to save His beloved children.