1. God the Creator (Genesis 1:1-31)
2. The Great Patriarchs (Genesis 12:1-3; 21:1-7; 32:22-30; Exodus 3:6)
3. God’s People Preserved (Genesis 45:1-8; 46:1-7)
Central Truth: God is both Creator and Sovereign over all.
Focus: Affirm and worship God, the Creator and Sovereign Lord.
Evangelism Emphasis: God has provided salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Golden Text: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
INTRODUCTION
The Bible is the great story of God in relationship with humanity. We have this great story because God speaks. God created the cosmos by the power of His spoken word. Throughout the great story, God continues to speak. God conversed with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God spoke with Cain and Abel. God spoke to Noah to warn him of impending judgment and instruct him in the building of a great ship. God spoke to Abram of Ur, calling him to be the father of the people of God, and the founder of our Faith. God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, calling him to deliver Israel from Egyptian oppression and later to give the divine law—the Ten Commandments.
Hebrews 1:1-3 summarizes the history of divine revelation: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person” (NKJV).
The Bible is a collection of ancient stories inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16). The stories began as oral traditions passed from generation to generation. As humans developed writing, these stories were recorded on clay tablets, parchments (animal skins), and papyri (ancient paper). Scribes collected the stories in the form of scrolls and codices (ancient books). These ancient documents were primarily written in Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament).
As the great story spread throughout the world, scribes translated the Scriptures into various languages. The Holy Spirit has preserved the great story and guided the transmission of the Holy Scriptures throughout the millennia. The great story is not a product of human imagination, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).
1. GOD THE CREATOR
The first article of the Apostles’ Creed is “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.” God as “Father” reveals Him to be the source of all life, and speaks of the relationship He wants to have with us. We have come to know God through His creative acts. The apostle Paul wrote, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20 NKJV).
Creation reveals God’s attributes. God is omnipotent (all-powerful). God created, sustains, and redeems the universe. God is omniscient (all-knowing). God is omnipresent; that is, He is simultaneously present throughout and beyond the cosmos. Also, God is simultaneously present throughout all the ages—past, present, and future. The great story assumes God’s eternal being. God is the eternally self-existent One with no beginning and no end.
A. The God of Beginnings (Genesis 1:1-25)
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
Ancient humans had many creation myths that held common beliefs about the gods. The ancient creation myths were polytheistic—teaching there are many different gods. These myths describe the beginning of the gods. In ancient Canaanite creation myths, the gods were associated with the seas, the land, and storms. In ancient Egyptian creation myths, the primary gods emerged from primeval swamps around the Nile River.
In the Biblical Creation story, the earth and seas do not give rise to the gods. Instead, the Spirit of God moves over/above the waters and is the source of life (Gen. 1:2). God is not dependent upon creation in any way; creation is utterly dependent upon God’s life-sustaining power. The Biblical Creation account is unique in that it is monotheistic—there is one God.
The six days of Creation demonstrate the orderliness of creation. The Hebrew term yôm is translated as day. Some insist day is a literal twenty-four-hour day, and Creation occurred over a period of six literal days. Others suggest day is a long period of time, or an age. The Creation story explains God’s supremacy over the Creation and deconstructs the gods of ancient mythology.
On the first day of Creation, God said, “Let there be light” (v. 3). The sun, moon, and stars were not created until the fourth day (v. 14). Throughout the Bible, light represents the glory of God. The psalmist declared God is arrayed in a robe of light (104:2), and Paul said God dwells in “unapproachable light” (1 Tim. 6:16 NKJV). The divine light illuminates the darkness; is the source of salvation, righteousness, and truth; and signifies the presence of God (Pss. 18:28; 27:1; 37:6; 44:3). With the decree, “Let there be light,” God fills the cosmos with divine glory.
On day two, God decreed the separation of earth and sky (Gen. 1:6-8). In ancient Egyptian mythology, Tefnut is the goddess of moisture (dew, rain) and Shu is the god of the air. Their children were Nut, the goddess of the sky, and Geb, the god of the earth. In ancient Babylonian mythology, Marduk, the god of the winds, makes war against Tiamet, the goddess of the seas. Marduk killed Tiamet and ripped her body into two pieces, and with them he created the heaven and earth. The Biblical creation story reduces these false gods to natural forces controlled by the one living God.
On day three, God decreed the separation of the seas from the land and created grasses, herbs, and fruit trees (vv. 9-13). In ancient Canaanite mythology, Ba’al was the god of storms and fertility. He controlled the weather and the fertility of the earth, seeds, and livestock. In a world in which everything depended on agriculture, Ba’al was the chief god. But the Biblical Creation story deconstructs the Canaanite myths. The one living God provides herbs, grains, and fruit. God “covers the heavens with clouds” and “prepares rain for the earth” (Ps. 147:8 NKJV; cf. Gen. 2:6).
On day four, God decreed, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” (1:14). In the ancient myths of Egypt the sun-god, Atum-Ra, was the supreme creator god. Atum-Ra emerged from the primeval waters of the Nile River. The Egyptian moon-god, Khonshu, was associated with the passage of time. The stars established religious festivals and signified important events. God’s decree deconstructs the entire religious system of ancient Egypt. The Biblical Creation story declares that the sun, moon, and stars are not to be worshiped, but are mere objects created by the one living God (Ps. 136:7).
On day five, God decreed that the seas be filled with great sea creatures, and that the skies be filled with all kinds of winged birds (Gen. 1:20-23). On the sixth day, God created the beasts of the land (vv. 24-25). The gods of ancient mythology resembled the creatures of earth and sea. For example, the Egyptian sun-god, Atum Ra, had a human body with the head of an eagle crowned by the sun; the Babylonian goddess, Tiamet, resembled a great serpent. In the words of Paul, the ancient creation myths viewed the gods as “birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Rom. 1:23).
· How is Genesis 1:1 the foundational verse of the entire Bible?
· Why is the order of Creation so significant?
B. Humanity in God’s Image (Genesis 1:26-31)
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Modern science would have us believe that humans are little more than great apes. The inspired Creation story tells us God created humans in the divine image and likeness. God’s image is not limited to a physical body. Even so, there are occasions in the Old Testament when God manifested a physical form—the burning bush, a hand, or even that of a man. These manifestations are anthropomorphisms—attributing human characteristics to God. Jesus has told us that God is Spirit and transcends all space (John 4:24). So, the image and likeness of God cannot refer to His physical appearance.
The image of God in humankind is expressed in the words “And the Lord God . . . breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7 NKJV; cf. Job 33:4). The “breath of life” is the Holy Spirit. The in-breathing of the Spirit is an intimate act corresponding to a divine kiss (Derek Kidner, Genesis). The Spirit gives life to all creatures, but the Hebrew word neshamah (“breath”) pertains only to humans (Victor Hamilton, The Book of Genesis). No other created being shares the intimacy of divine in-breathing and the distinction of being adorned with the glory of God.
The psalmist declared, “Yet You have made [humans] a little lower than God, and You crown [humans] with glory and majesty!” (8:5 NASB). Humans are the highest form of created life—higher even than the angels. Even so, humans must walk in great humility before God. God said, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are [His] ways higher than your ways, and [His] thoughts [higher] than your thoughts” (55:9 NKJV).
God created humans as male and female, equally created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:27). Marriage is inherent in God’s creation work. The woman originates from the man and therefore shares his substance and essence (2:21-23). The woman was created as “a helper comparable to” the man (v. 18 NKJV). The Biblical text suggests that the perfect human marriage is an equal partnership—a relationship in which each one complements the needs of the other (1 Cor. 11:11-12).
Sadly, human sinfulness has produced a male/female relationship marred by domination, manipulation, and betrayal. Throughout the Old Testament, God’s original intent for marriage degenerates into adultery, polygamy, and divorce. In our day, marriage has degenerated into cohabitation and homosexual partnerships. But Jesus reminds us that God’s intent for human marriage is a permanent relationship between one man and one woman (Matt. 19:4-6).
Another way humans share the divine image is that God has given us dominion—authority to rule—over the earth. In the ancient world, kings erected statues of themselves along the borders of their territory. These images proclaimed the sovereignty of the king. Human dominion over the earth declares God’s sovereignty (Ps. 8:6). Humans named the beasts, which signifies humans have authority over even the mightiest creatures, and the beasts are not to be worshiped as gods (Gen. 2:19).
The heavens and the earth are the temple of God (Ps. 11:4; Isa. 66:1). Adam and Eve, and their descendants, are to serve as kings and priests representing God’s rule. Humans are to “cultivate . . . and keep” the earth (Gen. 2:15 NASB). The language of cultivating and keeping is associated with the duties of the priests in serving in the temple of God (Gordon Wenham, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 1). In the New Testament, this authority is exercised in the proclamation of the Gospel to the whole world (Matt. 28:19-20) and ultimately in humans ruling and reigning with Christ in the new heavens and new earth (Rev. 20:4, 6; 22:5).
· How do secularists try to undermine the truth of Genesis 1:27?
Lord of All
Less than a thousand years ago, humanity thought the earth was the center of the cosmos. The cosmos was comprised of the earth, sun, moon, and visible stars. That was the limit of the created domain of God. Now we know the cosmos is a vast expanse of trillions of light years filled with millions of galaxies with billions of stars—huge gaseous bodies that are natural generators of nuclear fission energy. Many of these stars have planetary systems. With each new discovery the human understanding of God’s domain increases exponentially. God is Sovereign Lord of all.
2. THE GREAT PATRIARCHS
With the fall of Adam and Eve, and the disgrace of Noah, humanity falls “short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). But human failure is not the end of God’s purposes. When Moses encountered God in the burning bush, God declared, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Ex. 3:6 NKJV). God’s redemptive story will continue. Abraham is renown as the friend of God and the father of the faith (2 Chron. 20:7; James 2:23). Abraham and his descendants preserved the great story.
A. Abraham, Father of the Faith (Genesis 12:1-3)
1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
God called Abraham and Sarah to continue God’s redemptive work. With Abraham and Sarah, God creates a new humanity by blessing. The word blessing is a phonetic word play with the name Abram. Various forms of the word blessing are used eighty-eight times throughout Genesis (Wenham). God’s blessing of Abraham is an act of new creation that extends to “all the families of the earth.” God never intended that redemptive blessings be limited to the natural descendants of Abraham. When God delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage, a “mixed multitude” accompanied Israel out of Egypt (Ex. 12:38), including the African wife of Moses (Num. 12:1ff). A foreigner could become a child of Abraham through faith by partaking of the Passover and circumcision (Ex. 12:48).
God freely extends mercy and salvation to all the nations of the world with the ultimate goal of God’s reign extended throughout the earth. Paul wrote, “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘And to your seed,’ that is, Christ” (Gal. 3:16 NASB). Abraham’s blessing is fulfilled in the singular “seed” of Abraham—Jesus Christ. The earliest Christians, most of whom were Jews, understood that the Abrahamic blessing included the justification of the Gentiles (vv. 8-9, 14).
· Why did Abram have to leave his homeland?
B. Isaac, Child of Laughter (Genesis 21:1-7)
1 And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
God promised that the descendants of Abraham and Sarah would be a great multitude. However, Sarah was barren—incapable of conceiving a child (11:30). The blessing of Creation is that humans would be “fruitful and multiply” (1:28). The barrenness of Sarah represented the curse of sin which inhibits human flourishing. However, God has predestined human flourishing, and nothing can thwart the purposes of God. “The Lord visited Sarah” in her old age (21:1). Not only was Sarah barren, but she was well passed child-bearing years. In the deadness of her womb, God’s promise was fulfilled and life came forth.
The birth of Isaac represents the joy of a promise kept. Abraham named their son, Isaac, which means “laughter.” When God promised Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son, they laughed (17:17; 18:12-15). God’s promise seemed incredulous. With the birth of Isaac, Abraham’s heart was filled with overwhelming joy. As Isaac grew into a strong young man, Abraham’s joy increased. Even when it seemed that God would require the death of Isaac, Abraham trusted God. Abraham’s faith was rewarded in the provision of a lamb for the sacrifice (22:1ff.). God would not allow the promised blessing to die. God proved faithful to the promise, and Abraham’s life was filled with joy and laughter.
· Describe the principle of “blessing” and “cursing” God ordained (Gen. 12:2-3).
C. Jacob, the Wrestler (Genesis 32:22-30)
26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah. Like Sarah before her, Rebekah was barren (25:21). The curse of sin extends generation to generation, but so does the promise of God. Rebekah conceived twins. Her pregnancy was difficult because “the children struggled together within her” (v. 22). Their sons, Esau and Jacob, continued to be rivals as adults. Jacob proved to be a deceitful man. He deceived his father, his brother, and his father-in-law. Even so, God’s promise would be fulfilled through Jacob.
After many years of estrangement, Esau and Jacob were to meet again, and Jacob feared for his life. Since being conceived in the womb of his mother, Jacob’s life was one of struggle. Now, as he struggled with God, Jacob had a life-transforming moment. At this moment of crisis, God visited Jacob and they wrestled through the night (32:22-28). God wrestled with Jacob so Abraham’s promise would be fulfilled through him. Jacob recognized that his life of deceit endangered his posterity and he needed the blessing of God. Jacob prevailed, and God “blessed him there” and named him “Israel” (vv. 28-29).
Throughout the history of the children of Israel, God would continue to struggle with them. Like their namesake, the children of Israel were a contentious, deceitful, and rebellious people. Generation after generation, they would turn their hearts from God and follow after the false gods of Egypt, Canaan, and the other nations. But God never turned from them; God never forsook His covenant promise with Abraham. When the apostle Paul considered the fate of his Jewish kindred, he declared, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy” (Rom. 11:29-30 NKJV). The curse of sin will not prevail over the promise of God.
· Why were the names “Isaac” and “Jacob” so significant?
God’s Call
He is a God who initiates relationships with humankind and exercises authority over them. He alone will determine human destinies. Obviously Abram perceives this God who utters the call as One able to stand behind the promises of Genesis 12:2-3, for the patriarch embraces the call and believes the promise.—Asbury Bible Commentary
3. GOD’S PEOPLE PRESERVED
45:4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
46:2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. 3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation.
Joseph was the son of Jacob and Rachel (30:22-24). Joseph was especially loved by his father, who gifted him with a “varicolored tunic” (37:3 NASB). The tunic was a robe of authority which signified Joseph’s authority over his brothers. Joseph also dreamed that God had given him authority over his brothers (vv. 5-11). This provoked his brothers to jealousy and wrath and they conspired against him and sold him into slavery (v. 28). After many years of suffering as a slave, Joseph found favor with the Pharaoh of Egypt because of his gift of interpreting dreams. Pharaoh appointed Joseph as prime minister of Egypt.
Meanwhile, a great famine afflicted the land and threatened the survival of the children of Israel. So, the sons of Israel (the brothers of Joseph) traveled to Egypt to buy grain. As they bartered with Joseph, they didn’t recognize him as their brother. They probably assumed their brother to be long dead. The man with whom they bartered looked like an Egyptian and spoke the Egyptian language. But Joseph immediately recognized them. Instead of vengeance, he wanted reconciliation and called his brothers to come near. When they recognized him, they feared for their lives, but he greeted their fear with kisses (45:15). With the permission of Pharaoh, Joseph made plans for his father, brothers, and their families to move and live in the best lands of Egypt (46:31-34).
When it seemed that famine would starve the people of Israel and bring an end to the promise of God, God’s blessing prevailed. The conspiracy of Joseph’s brothers could not thwart the predestined purpose of God. Instead of slavery and death, God had predestined deliverance and posterity.
In the New Testament, another Joseph, the husband of Mary, would be renowned as a dreamer. When he sought to divorce the Virgin Mary because of her pregnancy, an angel came to him in a dream (Matt. 1:20). When Herod sought to destroy the holy Christ-child, God warned Joseph in a dream (2:13, 22). Before God laid the foundations of the world, He had predestined that the “only begotten Son” would be the guarantor of blessing, new creation, and eternal life (John 3:16).
· How did Joseph summarize his life journey to his brothers?
· Why could Jacob go to Egypt without fear?
“God dwells in eternity, but time dwells in God. He has already lived all our tomorrows as He has lived all our yesterdays.”—A. W. Tozer
GOD’S STORY CONTINUES
In a world that believes in many gods, the great story proclaims there is one living God who created and sustains the cosmos. In a world that foolishly refuses to acknowledge God, the Creation story boldly asserts that scientific truth about creation can reveal the Lord God. The Creation story glorifies God as Creator of all to be worshiped by all (Ps. 148). A world without God is a world that has succumbed to the despair of a meaningless fate. Even so, men and women of faith hear the call of God. The great story reminds us that God has predestined those who hear the call to inherit God’s eternal kingdom.
Daily Devotions
M. Recounting God’s Preservation (Nehemiah 9:5-15)
T. Glory and Power of God (Psalm 33:6-9)
W. The Sovereignty of God (Isaiah 40:12-17)
T. The Eternal Word of God (John 1:1-5, 14)
F. Beginning of Salvation History (Acts 7:2-8)
S. The Great Invitation (Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17)
*Adopted from the Evangelical Sunday School Lesson Commentary 2020-2021