All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Timothy 3:15-17 NLT
1. WHO WAS GENESIS WRITTEN TO?
QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE TODAY ABOUT GENESIS
1. How old is the earth?
2. Was the earth created in six literal twenty-four days or six long periods of time?
3. Does the lack of major transitional forms in the fossil records disprove evolution?
4. Could primitive nucleic acids, amino acids, and other building blocks of life have formed and organized themselves into self-replicating, self-sustaining units, laying the foundation for cellular biochemistry?
5. Was there really a talking snake?
6. Were there dinosaurs on Noah’s ark?
7. If God created Adam as the first person, did he have a belly button?
QUESTIONS ISRAEL LIKELY HAD THAT GENESIS WAS WRITTEN TO ANSWER
1. Are we going to survive here in the desert? Are we safe here?
2. Is there really only one God? What about all the Egyptian gods? Are they angry we left Egypt?
3. Is this God who rescued us still here, or are we alone?
4. What do we have to do to please this one God so we will have crops that won’t fail and have food for our families?
5. Should we worship the sun and the moon like the Egyptians? Or do we worship like the Canaanites, who are now nearby?
6. Is the Egyptian story of how the world was made the true one?
7. How do we live as free people?
2. WHAT IS CLEAR AND WHAT IS UNCLEAR?
HERE IS WHAT IS CLEAR… GOD IS THE CREATOR
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 NLT
'The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Genesis 1:2 NLT
Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young, so he spread his wings to take them up and carried them safely on his pinions. Deuteronomy 32:11 NLT
HERE IS WHAT IS UNCLEAR… HOW EXACTLY GOD CREATED EVERYTHING
DID GOD CREATE THE EARTH IN 6 DAYS? MAYBE
DID IT TAKE LONGER? MAYBE
IS THE EARTH YOUNG? MAYBE
IS THE EARTH OLD? MAYBE
My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT
But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 2 Peter 3:8 NLT
Hebrew word YOM
References twelve hours in Gen. 1:5
References a growing season or time in Gen. 4:3 & Is. 30:8
References an eternity or lifetime in Gen. 44:32
References a physical lifetime in Gen. 43:9 & Deut. 4:40;19:9
References a time period equal to forty days in Deut. 10:10
Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!” Matthew 21:9 NLT
3. WHY DID GOD GIVE GENESIS TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL?
1. Nile to blood came against the false gods Hapi the bull god, god of the Nile; Isis, goddess of the Nile; Khnum, ram god, guardian of the Nile; others
2. Frogs against the false god Heqet, goddess of birth, with a frog head
3. Gnats against the false god Set, god of the desert storms
4. Flies against the false god Uatchit, possibly represented by the fly
5. Death of livestock against the false gods Hathor, goddess with a cow head; Apis, the bull god, symbol of fertility
6. Boils against the false gods Sekhmet, goddess with power over disease; Sunu, the pestilence god; Isis, healing goddess
7. Hail against the false gods Nut, the sky goddess; Osiris, god of the crops and fertility; Set, god of the desert storms
8. Locusts against the false gods Nut, the sky goddess; Osiris, god of the crops and fertility
9. Darkness against the false gods Re, the sun god; Horus, a sun god; Nut, a sky goddess; Hathor, a sky goddess
10. Death of firstborn against the false gods Min, god of reproduction; Heqet, goddess who attended women at childbirth; Isis, goddess who protected children; Pharaoh’s firstborn son considered a god
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Genesis 12:1-4 NLT
Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. Genesis 15:5-6 NLT
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.” At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them! “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants.” Genesis 17:1-8 NLT
GOD’S PURPOSE THROUGH GENESIS WAS NOT TO JUST TO DELIVER THEM OUT OF EGYPT BUT TO DRIVE EGYPT OUT OF THEM.
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Romans 8:15-17 NLT
