How it all begins: Genesis the early chapters

A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Bible No. 3 Genesis Chapters 1 - 11

The book of Genesis is about beginnings: the beginning of the world; the origin of humanity; the reality of sin; God’s chosen method for dealing with sin. It divides neatly into two main parts.

Chapters 1 – 11 are written on a global scale. They are concerned with the origin of the world, and deal with universal subjects which concern everyone, such as the existence of God, how the world was created, why and how sin came into the world and how God continues to have a relationship with the nations of the world. These chapters seek to address the big questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here?

Chapters 12 – 50 narrow the story down to the calling of one man (Abraham), and through him and his immediate family, to the founding of a nation (the Hebrews), which is destined to become God’s chosen instrument for the revelation of Himself on earth.

THE PROLOGUE CHAPTERS 1 - 11

Who am I? Where do I come from? Why am I here? These age-old questions have always been asked. They are the starting point for the book of Genesis.

The word Genesis means 'origins', and its opening chapters seek to explain the origin of all that exists. But we need to understand the particular point of view of the narrative. 'In the beginning God created....'

GOD’S INITIATIVE

God is the originator of everything: the earth, the heavens, and the human race. Genesis begins, not with a rationale for the world’s creation, but with the fact of God's existence. This book is about God, and His relationship with the world. We are not reading a scientific textbook or an historical narrative. This is a book of theology.

Genesis does not even try to answer the question: ‘How did God make the world?’ The writer simply accepts that the world is God’s creation. This is a book of theology, not geology. The important question that we must ask is ‘Why did God make the world?’ The early chapters of Genesis are not about geology, or biology, or even history. We are beginning a study of how God relates with the world. 'In the beginning God....' is the starting point. Theology concerns God's dealings with the world. The opening chapters seek to explain the nature of God's relationship with the world, and with humanity, and the consequent obligations upon us, His people.

These first 11 chapters of Genesis predate even the Hebrew nation, and set the Bible in a global context. They provide a prologue, not just to Genesis, but also to the entire Bible, and indeed to the whole of human history.

Where did we come from? Why do bad things happen in the world? Where did civilisation come from?

HOW DID THESE STORIES COME TO US?

These stories probably existed long before they were written down. The early tribesmen who lived in Abraham's household were nomads. They lived in tents on the edge of the desert. When they sat down at night, around the campfire, they would tell one another stories: pass them on from one generation to the next. Precisely who first wrote down those stories in the form that we have them now, we shall never know.

The first five books of the Bible are known as the Books of Moses. Moses makes his appearance at the beginning of the book of Exodus, and is the central figure of these stories.

GENESIS 1 - 11 THE WORLD AND ITS MAKER

Key verses:

1:1 In the beginning God....... (this sets the context for the Bible.)

1:4, 10, 12, 18, etc. And God saw that it was good. (describing the reality of the world – God’s good gift for the human race to live in.)

Genesis was written to describe the beginning of God’s created order:

The universe (1:1)

Humanity (1:27)

The Sabbath (2:2-3)

Marriage (2:22-24)

Sin (3:1-7)

Sacrifice and salvation (3:15,21)

The family (4:1-15)

Civilisation (4:16-21)

Government (9:1-6)

Nations (11)

Israel (12:1-3)

From these chapters, we learn a number of things about God:

• God’s word is powerful. e.g. 1:3 ‘And God said....’ Whenever God issues an order, something happens. ‘and it was so’.

• God’s work is good. God’s world was a good place. It has been marred by sin, but it continues to show us something of God’s greatness and glory.

• God’s way is kind. He made a partner for Adam, and gave us the gift of love. 3:21 He met the need of Adam and Eve after the ‘Fall’, and so began the process of redemption.

• God’s will is the best. We see what happens when man disobeys God’s command.

And we also learn an important fact about humanity:

The human race - men and women - are made ‘in the image of God’ (1:26). This is the defining moment for the human race. Bearing God’s image is what makes us different from the rest of the created order, and is critical for our understanding of what it means to be human.

There are four great themes to these chapters: Creation, Fall, Flood, Nations.

CREATION

Chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis deal with the creation of the world. Genesis 1 offers a general account of creation, whilst Genesis 2 focuses more closely upon the place of humanity within God’s plans for the world.

These stories teach us some important facts about God and His relationship to the world:

The origin of the world is God's handiwork. God’s world is good. It was when He made it, and despite the ongoing saga of human disobedience, it continues to be a good world. Even when it is marred by sin and sickness, the natural thrust of creation is towards healing and renewal.

The pinnacle of God's creation is the human race. We are here because God has chosen to put us here. Genesis is not interested in scientific data, but it is concerned about understanding our relationship with God. It seeks to explain how the human race is different from the rest of creation. The challenge of faith is to trust that as people who follow the teachings of God, we have a reason and purpose for being here, and that the human race has a higher destiny and purpose than the rest of the animal kingdom.

God has given the human race a specific task. ‘Let them rule.... over all the earth.’ (1:26). People are called to share with God in His dominion over the world. Ultimately, we are answerable to God for how we use the world.

God has ordained human relationships. Man and woman are given to each other to be partners in God’s work, and to be companions for each other. 2:24 ‘they become one flesh’ – here we see that the man/woman union provides the basic building block of human relationships.

FALL

So to the next question - why do bad things happen in the world? This question has always been close to the surface in human thinking. We find the answer in Genesis 3.

Having introduced us to God, we meet Satan, depicted as the serpent, or the devil. Straight away, we are thrown into a spiritual battle, the conflict between good and evil. We witness Satan's attempts to thwart God's purposes, destroy mankind, and pull us away from God. The conflict between good and evil is epitomised by the story of Adam, Eve, the serpent and the forbidden fruit, but it quickly escalates as we learn about the consequences of disobedience:

jealousy (4:5), murder (4:8), fear (4:14), immorality (6:4-6), pride (11:4).

The sad tale of human failure is relieved by the heroism of a few people (Abel, Enoch, Noah), but there is a recurring refrain which underlines the story of sin: ‘and he died’, as warned by God in 2:17. Sin spreads from an individual, to a couple, to a family, and finally to the whole world.

But even as we read about the origins of this battle we see also the beginnings of God’s solution - the seeds of redemption. God does not give up on His chosen people. Instead, He begins the process of working to put right the damage. Genesis 3:21 describes the first small step in the process of redemption, and offers us an insight into God’s concern for his people. We see the Lord making garments of skin for Adam and Eve to wear. The story moves on to depict how the relationship continues, despite human rebellion. Cain kills his brother Abel, but the Lord will not allow Cain to be killed. We read the bloodthirsty song of Lamech, and the wickedness of the Nephalim, but despite all that is wrong, God does not reject humankind.

So right after the story of the Fall in Genesis 3, the relationship between God and the human race continues to develop throughout the continuing story: through Abraham and the Patriarchs, and onwards in the lives of Moses, David and the prophets, until it reaches its ultimate expression, which we find in the Gospels, when God Himself takes human form, and offers new hope and redemption to his people.

THE HUMAN STORY – SOCIETY DEVELOPS

The stories that follow, recounted in Genesis chapters 6 - 11: the Flood and the Tower of Babel, remind us that God is the sovereign Lord of the entire world. The first recorded covenant, the covenant of the rainbow with Noah, pre-dates even the life of Abraham. God is Lord of all the earth, not just the children of Israel. After the flood, God affirms His covenant with mankind, but sadly, humanity fails to keep its side of the contract.

FLOOD

The flood is the result of universal sin. This event makes an important theological point: the world cannot save itself. God sets out to wipe out all traces of human life, and begins again, by taking the only righteous family left on earth, and repopulating the world through the descendants of Noah. But even this act is insufficient to bring full restoration to the world. Humanity falls at the first hurdle in spectacular fashion. The very first story after the flood tells how Noah got drunk. Sin continues its sorry advance. This is a story that illustrates human inability to save itself. People cannot save themselves. Only divine intervention can restore the world.

BABEL

Even more insidious than the story of the Flood is the tower of Babel. Humankind is advancing. But far from growing closer to God, it is becoming increasingly selfish and arrogant. The tower of Babel is symptomatic of man's desire to be in control. It tells the story of a society that thought it could manage without God. It celebrates the glory of man, whilst forgetting our dependence upon God. It contains a lesson that is as pertinent today as when it was first told. Humankind may increase in knowledge, but it fails to increase in wisdom. Humanity cannot survive without God.

Pride comes before a fall. The tower of Babel is stopped. The people of the earth are confused and scattered. The Lord's judgement overrules human schemes and designs. This story is a telling indictment of any society that seeks to live without reference to God's will.

GOD’S CONTINUING CARE

God, creator of the world, is all-powerful, and His purposes are good. By the end of chapter 11, He could easily have said, 'Enough, I've had my fill of the earth. I wash my hands of it'. You could easily imagine a Monty Python style foot coming down and eradicating the human race. But that's not God's way. From the very beginning, God chose to love the human race, and to remain faithful, even though we may be faith-less. God chose to remain involved. He could not forget His starting point: 'He saw all that He has made, and it was very good.' Despite this somewhat chequered start to the story of the human race, God’s love remains constant.

How will God restore the world? The story of redemption and restoration begins in Genesis 12.