LESSON ONE

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS

I. THE BOOK OF BEGINNNGS

    A. THE FOUNDATION OF HISTORY

    B. WHO WROTE GENESIS

    C. PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION

    D. ANTICIPATION OF ETERNITY

A. THE FOUNDATION OF HISTORY

1. “The Book of Genesis is no mere collection of myths and legends; it is the actual, factual record of real events and real people at the beginning of history.” 

The revelation of God to man was written over a period of 1,600 years by 40 different authors who were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and Genesis is the most important book in that revelation! Why? because it is the foundation of all of the other books of the Bible; without the Book of Genesis all of the other books of the Bible would not make sense. Without the Book of Genesis, it would be like building without a foundation, with no bridge to the other floors and without support. The Books of the Old Testament, concerning the chosen nation of Israel, would not make any sense without knowing what happened in the earlier chapters of Genesis. The New Testament, which is the revelation of God’s work in Christ for the redemption of man, cannot be understood without the revelation of the fall of man, and his need for redemption as revealed in the Book of Genesis!  

The Book of Genesis gives essential information concerning the origin or beginning of all things and therefore the meaning of all things, which without man could not know. The future is bound up in the past. A person’s belief concerning his origin will inevitably determine what he believes about his purpose and destiny. Man wants and needs to know where he came from, why he is here, and where he is going! Genesis answers those questions!

Those who have a naturalistic, animalistic belief about our origins will also have a naturalistic, animalistic belief about their future. And is isn’t very promising! On the other hand, those who believe that our origin came by an omnipotent, holy and loving God, will live their life with a divine purpose and the belief that that divine purpose will end in eternal meaning and glory! The contrast between the two belief systems definitely effects how we live our lives! 

2. The word “Genesis” means “origin” and the Book of Genesis gives the only true and reliable account of all of the basic parts of the universe and of life itself. We will dig deeper into these things, along with differing opinions about the origin of all things, a little later in our studies. The important point here is that the Book of Genesis simply lays out the truth about how all things began. Another word for origin is “beginnings.” 

Let’s look at several important examples:

1.) Origin or the beginning of the universe

The Book of Genesis stands alone in its’s accounting for the actual creation of the basic space-matter-time universe that we live in. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” God spoke the worlds into existence. It all began with Him—the Divine Creator!  All of the other so-called sciences, literature and philosophies start with eternal matter or energy in some form, from which all other entities were supposedly gradually derived from some random process. To put it into layman terms, a wind blew through a junk yard and a 747 commercial airplane flew out on the other side!  

Only the Book of Genesis even attempts to account for the ultimate origin of matter, space and time. It does so with a unique act of creation by an all-powerful, all-knowing, Creator! An intelligent designer!

2.) Origin of order and complexity

It is widely believed, by both personal experience and formal study of biological and physical systems, that the orderly and complex things tend to naturally decay into disorder and simplicity. Order and complexity do not arise spontaneously or by chance. They instead are the result of prior cause (God’s Word) that produces order and complexity! And this is exactly what you find, only in the Book of Genesis. Creation and not chance!

3.) Origin of the solar system. 

The earth, as well as the sun and moon, the stars and planets were all brought into existence by the Creator as told in Genesis. It is small wonder that modern scientific cosmogonists, or those who study the cosmos or universe, have been so haplessly unsuccessful in attempting to devise some naturalistic theory of the origin of the universe and the solar system. 

4. Origin or the atmosphere and hydrosphere

The earth is uniquely equipped with a great body of liquid water and an extensive make-up of an oxygen-nitrogen gaseous mixture, both of which are necessary for life. These have never “developed” on other planets and are explained ONLY BY SPECIAL CREATION, which means a CREATOR! 

5. Origin of life

How living systems could have come into being from non-living chemicals is, and will always be, a total mystery to materialistic, evolutionary philosophers! The marvels of the reproductive process, and the almost-infinite complexity programmed into the genetic systems of plants and animals, are simply inexplicable except by an act of SPECIAL CREATION. The account of the creation of all “living creatures” in Genesis is the only rational explanation.  

6. Origin of man

Man is the most highly organized and complex creation on the earth, possessing not only innumerable intricate physical-chemical structures, and the most marvelous capacities of life and reproduction, but also a nature which contemplates the abstract qualities of beauty and love and worship, and which is also capable of reasoning about his own meaning! Man’s imaginary so-called descent from animal ancestors is nothing more than an illusion, a lie. The true record of man’s origin is given only in the amazing Book of Genesis!  

7. Origin of marriage

The universal and foundational institution of marriage and the home, in a monogamous, patriarchal society culture, is likewise revealed in Genesis as having been ordained by the Creator. Polygamy, infanticide, matriarchy, promiscuity, divorce, abortion, homosexuality, and all other corruptions came later because of man’s fallen, sinful nature. 

8. Origin of evil

Cause-and-effect reasoning accounts for the origin of the concepts of goodness, truth, beauty, love, and such things as fundamental attributes of the Creator Himself. The origin of physical and moral evils in the universe is explained in Genesis as a TEMPORARY intrusion into God’s perfect world, allowed by Him as a concession to the principal of human freedom and responsibility, and also to manifest Himself as not only Creator but also Redeemer! 

9. Origin of language

The gulf between the chattering of animals and the intelligent, abstract, symbolic communication systems of man is completely unimaginable by any evolutionary process. The Book of Genesis not only accounts for the origin of language in general, but also the different national languages in particular. Genesis tells us where man got his language and also how different languages came to be. 

10. Origin of government

The development of organized systems of human government is described in the Book of Genesis, with man responsible not only for his own actions, but also for the maintenance of orderly social structures through systems of laws and punishments. 

11. Origin of culture

The Book of Genesis also describes the beginning of the main cogs which we now associate with civilized cultures—such things as urbanization, the technology of metals, music, agriculture, writing, education, navigation, textiles and ceramics. 

12. Origin of nations

All scholars today accept the essential unity of the human race. The problem, then, is how distinct nations and races could develop if all men originally were one race and one language. Only the Book of Genesis gives an adequate answer. 

13. Origin of religion

There are many different religions among men, but all share the consciousness that there must be some ultimate truth and meaning toward which men should strive. Many religions take a form of an organized system of worship and conduct. The origin of this unique characteristic of man’s consciousness, as well as the origin of true worship of the true God, is given in Genesis. 

14. Origin of the chosen people

The enigma of the Israelites—the unique nation that was without a homeland for 1,900 years, which gave the world the Bible and the knowledge of the One True God, through which came Christianity, is a nation which has remarkably contributed to the world’s art, music, science, finance, and other gifts more than any other people. The fact that they, for no natural reason, are despised by great numbers of people worldwide is answered only in terms of the unique origin of Israel in the Book of Genesis! 

And with that we will stop here tonight and pick it up next week. Let’s pray.