The Basics: A Brief Overview of Genesis
The Basics course is designed to help brothers and sisters in Christ, who have a desire for a brief study over each of the books of the Bible. While being more than just a timeline, it is designed to give a person a more realistic overview of the entire Bible. As well as pointing out different highlights along the way. Imagine riding in a car and seeing exit signs for a town. Each sign gives a brief glimpse of what is inside, while if you wanted to thoroughly investigate the town you would have to take the exit. This series is a collected work of the books of the Bible while continuing to drive past each of the exits. I would encourage you to take any exit and allow the Lord God to direct your path to where He would guide.
The Bible is written into 66 different books. Each one unique on its own but designed to be with its other collected works.
Cautionary Note: This work is not to argue for the authenticity of the Bible nor is it to argue over the mechanics of how God used man to write His Words. This is designed as an overview for someone to review the book in passing. Nevertheless, we here at Mill House Ministries believe that the Bible is without error and was written by God, through His divine attributes, through man.
These overviews are sequenced in the below fashion. Each overview is designed to flow in unison.
Introduction
Who wrote it
When did they write it
Why did they write it
Key topics
Key sections
Books that interact with each other
Analysis of the Book
As previously stated, if you find yourself drawn to one of these books, please take the time and see what God is wanting to show you in that book.
BASICS COURSE: GENESIS (Pentateuch)
INTRODUCTION
The first book in the Bible was written by the Prophet Moses. You could say he is the oldest, most well known, and well written historian to ever be published. Pentateuch is the collected work of the first five books of the Bible. The term Pentateuch literally means “Five Books.” Jewish scholars identify this book as one of the five books of “The Law.”
WHO WROTE IT
Moses is the son of Amram and Jochebed, he lived as an adopted son to Egyptian royalty. After murdering an Egyptian, he fled to the wilderness. There God called to him in a burning bush. He was than commissioned to lead the Jewish nation out of Egypt and into the promised land that God had ordained. He would lead them until his death, but unfortunately never into the promise land. He talked with God like a friend. Exodus 33:11a “So the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.” Moses is considered to be one of the greatest people in the Bible, and is even mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 as one of the greats in the faith.
WHEN DID THEY WRITE IT
While Moses lived years after the events of Genesis, God called him to write down the events of the creation of man. According to famed author and Bible theologian Don Stewart, Moses lived during the Late Bronze Age around 1550 to 1200 B.C. We know that Genesis was written during this time frame.
WHY DID THEY WRITE IT
This book was written to explain the beginning of where we are today. In short, we owe everything we have today to the events of Genesis. Dr. J. Vernon McGee identifies Genesis as literally meaning “origins.” It is where we derive what we understand with the 7 day week, creation, man, woman, sabbath, marriage, family work, sin, murder, sacrifice, races, languages, nations, culture, civilizations, angels, satan, DNA manipulation, demons, first global events and most importantly, redemption. Naturally the first book of the Bible is the first book mentioning a promised savior.
KEY TOPICS
Genesis is diverse in its topics, and undoubtedly is one of the greatest written documentations of the initial age of man. The key topics in Genesis range from creation, man’s origins, Satan, prophecy, murder, death, rapture, Nephilim (Angel/Human halfbreed), judgement, current earth environment, family tree of the Jewish nation as well as how God preserved His promised bloodline for a coming Savior, Globalism, Nationalism, religion, war, slavery, architecture, Feudalism, and agriculture. Doctrines you can find in Genesis are the following, Theology, Christology, Pneumatology, Anthropology, Soteriology, Angelology, and Eschatology.
KEY SECTIONS
The Book can be divided into several key sections, which you can pinpoint generally speaking where a topic lies inside of Genesis. Chapters 1-2: Creation, Chapters 3-4: Fall of Man, Chapters 5-9: The Pre-flood world and the flood, Chapters 10-11: The first original attempts at Globalism, the rise of Nationalism, religion, race, civilizations, and cultures. Chapters 12-23: The origins of the Jewish nation, and others, through the seed of Abraham. Chapters 24-26: Describes Isaac, the son of Abraham, Chapters 27-36: Jacob and the origins of the name “Israel.” Chapter 37-50: are about Joseph, the son of Jacob, and the origins of how the Jewish nation came about in its unique characteristics and its initial time in Egypt.
BOOKS THAT INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER
While there are several books that either quote or take part in supporting the evidence and statements found in Genesis, only one book truly holds weight to be called a book that interacts with Genesis. This book is the final book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. Both involve similar aspects that at times mirror each other. One book starts with the origins of creation, man, Satan, and sin; while the final book concludes how these topics are going to end. Revelation leans heavily on the book of Genesis to show God’s perfection in ultimately crushing Satan, and the sin that has been brought onto creation. However, Genesis leans heavily on Revelation to reveal the answers to the many questions that Genesis produces for the reader. One great example is when in Genesis we see Jacob bless Judah and state,
Genesis 49:10-11, “10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. 11 ‘He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes.’” We know that this ruler is Jesus Christ. However, this is not fully drawn out for us until we get to Revelation Chapters 19-20, and see how Jesus will have the obedience of the nations when He rules in Jerusalem for the thousand years and His robes are bathed in the blood of the enemy, Revelation 19:13, “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God.”
ANALYSIS OF THE BOOK
The first three chapters of Genesis are undoubtedly some of the harshest battles of skeptics and deniers of the faith. Dr. J. Vernon McGee states a great comparison to refute those who would say creation is inaccurate,
“One of the harshest and most frequently heard criticisms of the Bible concerns the creation account. It is pointed out that other nations of antiquity had such a story. This is true, but a comparison of the Genesis record with one of the best of a secular nation, the Babylonian tablets of creation, will show the superiority of the Genesis record. Here all is a contrast:”
Babylonian Tablets begin with chaos, Bible begins with cosmos, perfection
Babylonian tablets state heavenly bodies are gods, Bible states Heavenly bodes are matter
Babylonian tablets argue Polytheistic theology (many gods), Bible argue Monotheistic truth (one God)
Babylonian tablets reiterate the work of a craftsman, Bible says God spoke
Babylonian tablet states characterized by puerility and grotesqueness, Bible states grand and solemn realities of the creator God who is holy and a Savior
Babylonian tablets are out of harmony with science, Bible rendition is in accord with science (many scientists are believers).
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Matthew Henry so accurately summarized Genesis as being more than just the “origins” of everything, but argued Genesis should be looked at as the “generation” of everything. In his Commentary Volume 1, he argued that the word “origins” did not reflect the cosmic importance of the work of Genesis. He believed “generation” from where things were nothing, God produced something in which God had to invoke the energy to sustain. Harold L. Willmington argued that Genesis helps identify the group of people who would channel and be part of the creation of God’s Word to man, and also a channel for the fruition of God’s Eternal Son Jesus Christ coming down to earth as our salvation. Willmington identifies the very first verse as being instrumental in understanding the character, nature, and divine attributes of God, “In the Hebrew, the opening verse of the Bible contains a grammatical discord-a plural subject with a singular verb: ‘In the beginning God [ Elohim, a plural noun meaning ‘Gods’] created, [bara, a singular verb meaning ‘creates’] the heaven and the earth.’ This grammatical discord refutes two heresies: 1) Unitarianism, which denies the Trinity, and 2) Polytheism, which denies the unity of the Godhead. The doctrine of the Trinity is confirmed-the truth of the unity (there is only one true God) and tri-unity (One God eternally coexisting in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit).” Page 28
In the end, Genesis is as unique as it is original. As science develops, we see the signature of God throughout Genesis. As we live, we can see the origins of how we came and the need for God through Genesis. It must be pointed out that the attributes of a symphony reflect the design of Genesis. Genesis being the first book of the Bible can be compared to a sonata, which is the opening of a symphony. A composer has two themes in the beginning sonata of a symphony, the first is loud and thunderous, much like Genesis with creation and God’s first interactions with man. The second theme in the sonata is characterized with its more subtle theme, this one grows in importance but at times can be missed. For Genesis, this is the need for a savior for all of mankind and how God would have to provide such salvation. If not studied with precision and recognizing the unique but similar characteristics of Genesis to a sonata, one might miss the importance of what God is subtlety pointing to, “Man needs a savior.” A composer ends the sonata and the beginning of a symphony with a focus of the second theme, desiring to highlight its importance to the observer. Genesis ends with God through Moses identifying how the Savior would come about. God as a composer, using Moses as a musician, creates the grandest and most spectacular sonata of humanity, and we call it the book of Genesis.
Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming
JL
References Briefing the Bible by Dr. J. Vernon McGee and Survey of the Old Testament by Harold L. Willmington