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Genesis: Book of beginnings
Genesis is the first of five books of the Pentateuch--also known as the Books of Moses, the Law of Moses, or Torah. We believe that Moses wrote these books substantially as we have them. There are many reasons to believe Moses wrote them:
* he had the educational and personal qualifications (Acts 22:7);
* as a leader of his nation in crucial times, he would naturally commit the history and laws to writing;
* the Pentateuch claims he wrote it (Exodus 24:4 and elsewhere);
* the rest of the Bible claims Moses authorship of the Pentateuch (Joshua 1:7-8; 1 Cor. 9:9 and elsewhere);
Jesus said Moses wrote it (John 5:46-47 and elsewhere). For more about the origins of Genesis, see the paragraph headed "Problems: real or imagined?"

The content of Genesis.
We accept that all scripture came from God through inspiration, and that all of the Bible is perfect: however, God did not give all his truth at the beginning. He did so progressively. New truths about God's relationship with mankind unfold with the ongoing progression of scripture. Genesis and the other books of the Pentateuch lay the foundation for all scripture that follows.
      The turning point in human history occurred in the third chapter of Genesis when Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God. By disobeying they introduced sin and death into God's perfect world.
      Genesis is a book of beginnings, not just of the created universe, but of at least eight other beginnings critical to our understanding of God's plan and program. Genesis also records nine family histories that illustrate God's early dealings with mankind.

A central figure in the book
Abraham stands out as one of the most important people in Genesis. In Genesis 12, God made a covenant with Abraham and then expanded on it as the book progressed. God promised that Abraham and his descendants would:
* inherit the land of Canaan;
* become a great nation;
* become the avenue through whom all the nations would receive blessing.
      This promise becomes the foundation of all the great truths of the Bible that follow. Genesis 15:6 says, "Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." The New Testament picks up the theme and says in Galatians 3:8:
      The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
      Jews consider Abraham as father of their nation; Christians look to him as their father in the faith.

The twelve tribes of Israel
Abraham had a son, Isaac, who had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob, also known as Israel, had twelve sons. As the Bible story progresses, the sons of Jacob become the basis for the twelve tribes of the nation Israel. Jacob's deathbed blessing on his sons in Genesis 49 foreshadows the biblical narrative to follow.

Outline or structure of Genesis
Genesis lends itself to many good outlines. You could develop the nine beginnings or nine family histories shown on page 13 into excellent outlines. An outline simply helps the reader grasp the general content of the book. A basic outline for Genesis looks like this:
1.0 Creation and early history of humanity (chapters 1 through 11).
2.0 Abraham--the beginnings and history of God's people (chapters 12 through 50).

Christ in Genesis
Jesus said of Moses ". . . for he wrote about me" (John 5:46). Many Bible scholars believe that the first recorded prophecy pointing toward Christ appears in Genesis 3:15. When God cursed the serpent (an embodiment of Satan), he used these words, ". . . I will put enmity between your offspring and hers: he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." The offspring (seed in some Bible versions) of the woman can be none other than Jesus Christ.
      Here in this verse, the antagonism between people and snakes symbolizes the outcome of Satan's great struggle against God. It is truly one-sided, for Satan would manage only to strike Christ's heel, but Christ would succeed in crushing Satan's head. Although Satan injured Christ on the cross, Christ had the final victory that will lead to the destruction of Satan (see Rom. 16:20).

Key phrase of Genesis
Key words or phrases help us unlock the books of the Bible, giving us a special insight into the message of the book. The key phrase of Genesis is "the generations of," an expression that occurs 11 times in ten separate passages. This illustrates that Genesis traces the line of descent of the promised offspring, "seed," or descendant of the woman who would crush the serpent's head. Some generations appear, only to be set aside, while others continue the line that stretches from Adam and Eve to Jesus Christ.

Problems: real or imagined?
Did God employ creation or evolution? Arguments abound today between creationists and evolutionists. If we accept holus-bolus the theory of evolution, we remove God from the picture, making him a later invention of man. If the stories of Genesis have no basis in fact, we eliminate the entrance of sin into the world and the subsequent need for salvation.
      If we accept the arguments of science that the world is much older than the 6,000 years suggested by the genealogies of Genesis, then we need to understand or interpret creation in a fashion that harmonizes both views. Christians have proposed many theories to remove the dissonance caused by trying to believe opposing theories. As a believer, you must sort through them and decide for yourself which fits best with a life of faith and a high view of the Word of God. See "Creation Theories" on page 13 for views put forward by various Christian teachers.

An ancient creation hymn
A hymn that could predate Moses by 1,000 years says in part:
Death was not then, nor was there aught immortal:
      no sign was there, the day's and night's divider.
That one thing, breathless, breathed by its own
      nature: apart from it was nothing whatsoever.
Darkness there was: at first concealed in darkness,
      this all was undiscriminated chaos.
All that existed then was void and formless: by the
      great power of warmth was born that unit.
      Do you see the striking similarities between this ancient Hindu hymn and the first chapter of Genesis? Human intellect might bring us to believe that Moses and the early writer of this creation hymn got their ideas from the same original document. But faith alone draws us to conclude that Moses, whether writing or editing under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, got it right.

We have already looked at revelation, illumination, and inspiration (in chapter 1). Now let's add a new word to the mix--interpretation. While illumination speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit in helping us to understand the Bible, interpretation deals with the use of our intellectual powers to understand the Bible. We have already noted that Christians differ in their interpretation of the creation story. The same holds true with many other parts of the Bible. Often godly, sincere Christians will take very different sides on a controversial issue. This grows out of differences in education, culture, and personal experience--because of these differences, they interpret Bible passages differently.

God expects us to use God-given wisdom. Paul said in 1 Cor. 10:15 "I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what you say."

In his book Understanding the Bible, John Stott tells us to look for three things when trying to understand the Bible.
      The natural sense, which he calls the principle of simplicity. When reading a passage of scripture, always look for the obvious and natural meaning. Always look first for the literal meaning. If a passage does prove to have a figurative meaning, still look for the literal meaning taught by the allegory or metaphor.
      The original sense, which he calls the principle of history. If we understand the historical background, we will understand if we should interpret the passage as applying to us as a direct command, or as a lesson from which we should derive principles for living. We need to understand the style and the background of the writer. Is he writing law, poetry, history, hymns, or prophecy? What did the words mean in the original language at the time of writing?
      The general sense, which he calls the principle of harmony. Although the human writers of the Bible came from many historical and cultural backgrounds, the message of the Bible came from one mind--the mind of God. If we choose to interpret parts of the Bible so that they contradict other parts, we have erred. The Bible must agree with itself. So we must interpret the more obscure passages in light of the plain teaching of other passages.