After my father retired from the business world, he went back to school and earned a doctorate in ministry. He pastored a small church in Northern Texas. Dad also dreamt of writing a book based on the Biblical research he did during his life. But, dad never realized this dream. However, he did leave all the information for me. I decided I would take one blog a month and write up this great information. If the details are beneficial for others, I will put them together in a book in the future.
As we embark on this journey through the Bible, may we remember to ask God to show us what He wants us to learn? Psalm 19:14; “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
Genesis
- Author: Moses
- Audience: The people of Israel
- Date Written: 1450-1410 BC
- Length: 50 Chapters
- Key Word: Beginning
- Key Verse: Genesis 1:27 “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them: male and female he created them”
- Key People: Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Joseph
The Beginning
The book covers over 2,000 years of history with eight distinct sections demonstrating the importance of beginnings. Those sections are as follows:
- The beginning of the universe: We find these details of the origin of our world in Genesis 1:1-25. God took nothingness and formed it into sky, land, sea, planets, stars, day, night, vegetation, and animals.
- The beginning of the human race: God created Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:26-2:25.
- The beginning of the need for salvation: In this section, we see God confront Adam and Eve about their sins in Genesis 3:8-24.
- The beginning of human sin: We find the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:1-15.
- The beginning of godlessness in the world: We find sin so prevalent that God sends a flood to destroy His creation in Genesis 6-9.
- The beginning of Nations of the world: From Noah’s family, we learn how the nations formed in Genesis 10.
- The beginning of languages: God gives a variety of tongues to the people to confuse them at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11.
- The beginning of the patriarchal history of Israel: The remainder of Genesis takes us through the early figures in the lineage of Christ.
Summary
Genesis begins with God and ends with the death of Joseph. Or in other words, the book takes us from perfection to human sinfulness. The message of Genesis also displays man’s failure under every condition and shows how the grace of God meets it. Man fails amidst the ideal environment of the Garden of Eden, but God’s grace does not destroy them. Next, humans fail God’s standards and fall into sin, but God saves a remnant of people to start again. Finally, we see failure to follow those God anointed as patriarchs, which lays the groundwork for God’s grace in the form of our Savior. Where sin abounded, God’s grace abounded more.
Importance of Studying the Bible
Each book of the Bible contains lessons for us to learn as well as historical information. We need to study God’s Word to see what to do and what not to do in life. Paul reminds all of us of the importance of the words within the text in 2 Timothy 3.
“14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:14-17;
Prayer
Heavenly Father, guide our thoughts as we study your Word. Please show us how to apply the principles to our daily lives. Thank you for the many blessings we find within its pages. In Jesus’ Holy Name. Amen.
Grace and Peace to you,
Yvonne M. Morgan is a Christian author, blogger, and speaker.
Matthew 28:19 “Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Additional Resources:
Amen. We can learn many lessons from reading Scripture. This morning, I created a video for a group I participate in, and I read from Genesis 1. God is trying to tell me something. 🙂
I think He is telling you something 💕. I love when He causes us to think along the same line.
Genesis is far more important that even most Christians understand. When people dismiss Genesis as a collection of myths, they dismiss our accountability to our holy creator God and our need for a Redeemer to save us from sin. Genesis is truly the foundation for all we believe!
Well said Ava. The entire Bible is needed to understand our faith and how to live in faith. Grace and peace to you.
A great beginning! How wonderful that you have the notes your father left behind for you. Genesis is foundational. We must know what occurred in the beginning, if we’re to understand how human beings came to be sinners and why we’re in need of a Savior. Without the knowledge gained in Genesis, we would have no idea why we needed Jesus to come to redeem us, to live a perfect life as “the second Adam,” and then to die for our sins on the cross. The promise that he would come is made in Genesis. It’s always best to start at the beginning of the story.
Amen Melinda. I try to remember that it took one chapter of Genesis for humans to destroy God’s perfection and then the rest of the Bible is for us to see how to restore our relationship with God. Grace and peace to you.
I love that you are caring on your father’s legacy. What a beautiful reminder “where sin abounds, grace abounds more.” Thank you for sharing!💗
You are welcome and thanks for visiting. Grace and peace to you
What a beautiful wealth of information and such a priceless gift he gave you! Love this post!! ❤
Thanks so much Donna. So much history in our Bible. Grace and peace to you
I love and rely on God’s abounding grace every day. Our imperfect patriarchs point to our need for Jesus from the very beginning. I marvel at knowing… he knew. Before the creation of havens and the earth and the garden and Adam and Eve, the Father knew he would have to send his Son to die.
Wonderful thoughts. He knew how much wrong we would do and still sent us Jesus. It is hard to fathom that kind of grace and love. Grace and peace to you Candice
There is no more logical explanation for the existence of matter than God speaking it into reality. And I love the story of Joseph, faithful through such adversity. So much to think on in Genesis.
Amen Nancy. Each book has so much to teach us. Grace and peace to you
Love this devotion. I am looking forward to the posts that will follow, and maybe, one day, the book.
Thanks Craig. I appreciate it so much. Grace and peace to you
Thank you for sharing this, and I love how your father’s notes are reaching a new generation! Never thought about the eight beginnings in Genesis like that before, and I’ve read the Bible over seven times, so it’s always exciting to see more things revealed. Your earthy father would be so pleased with how you are sharing the information God revealed to him.
Thanks so much Christina. I appreciate it. Grace and peace to you
Excellent piece! I just finished reading Genesis this week… I think it was the fourth or fifth time I’ve read it, and every time I do, I realize and learn something new about people, about God, and about relationships. Thank you for a great article, Yvonne!
Thanks Jessica. So much richness in the Bible. Grace and peace to you
Yvonne, I’m glad your dad left this information for you as it benefits us. Providing the synopsis of the book of Genesis is helpful and all the “beginnings” to summarize this great book of the Bible.
Thanks Karen. I love all the knowledge locked in our Bible. Grace and peace to you