The New is in the Old concealed: Genesis - Tues 5 Dec

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth: Gen 1:1

What an opening line! What a bold statement! Straight away the reader is gripped and must read on. We are not on this planet as a result of time, matter and chance, but because God created us.

Genesis means beginning/origin. It’s a book which tells how everything started. We could call it “the book of origins” or “how it all started”. The root of the word is shared with “genetic” and “genealogy” among others.

This is a truly awesome book and very readable. You can’t expect to understand the human condition and God’s rescue strategy unless you’ve got an understanding of Genesis. Everything begins and has its origin there.

The main themes are as follows:

-          Creation: at the dawning of time, God created the heavens and the earth, all living things including mankind. Everything was good.

-          Fellowship: God and man walked and talked together in the Garden of Eden. It must have been a blissful time of sharing and learning. Adam and Eve were fine physical specimens with no flaws.

-          Stewardship: God placed mankind on the earth “to have authority” and “to subdue”. Man was to be his apprentice or co-worker on the earth. Note that the need to be involved in creative work is part and parcel of our design.

-          The Fall: 3:8-9: Adam and Eve heard the Lord God in the garden, and they hid from His presence. The Lord God said to Adam: where are you?  Those words are chilling. The consequences of the fall are far-reaching and cataclysmic.

-          Atonement: Before the Fall we can deduce that man was vegetarian (2:16). Once Adam and Eve sinned and realised they were naked, God provided skins for clothing - an animal had to be sacrificed – a guilt offering.

-          Salvation: As early as Gen 3, God is outlining his rescue plan for mankind. God says to the devil in 3:15 “a son of Eve will bruise your head with his foot”. This refers to Jesus being crucified on Golgotha – the place of a skull.

All of the themes above, and more, come from chapters 1-3. The remainder of the book is jam-packed with God’s dealing with mankind in a world which had turned its back on the Creator and was under a curse. We have Noah and his family being delivered from the flood – a picture of salvation. We have the story of Abraham who was prepared to sacrifice his only son Isaac until God intervened and provided a lamb. How poignant! How close this is to John 3:16 and Jesus the Lamb of God. We have the fantastically moving and powerful story of Joseph who was sold into slavery, given up for dead, but who became a mighty deliverer. Yet again the parallels with the life of Jesus are amazing.

Genesis, the book of origins, a book you must read.