GENESIS INTRODUCTION IN THE BEGINNING

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1 DUCTION IN THE BEGINNING Old Testament history has been recorded for us by writers who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. God chose to reveal himself in history not only by his great, supernatural history making acts, but also by the words of his people, especially his divinely chosen spokesmen, the prophets. The revealing acts of God never appear separated from his verbal communications of truth. Word and act always accompany each other to the effect that revelation is organically connected with the introduction of a new order of things into this sinful world. Revelation is the light of this new world which God has called into being. The light needs the reality and the reality needs the light to produce the vision of the beautiful creation of his grace. 1 Old Testament history may be divided into 7 periods: 1. The Patriarchs running from Abraham to Jacob s twelve sons. 2. The Egyptian Period from Jacob s descent into Egypt and the Exodus. 3. Israel in the Wilderness and the conquest of Canaan. 4. The Period of the Judges 5. The Time of the united monarchy of Saul to Solomon 6. The Years of the divided monarchy ending for Israel in 722 B.C. and for Judah in 586 B.C. 7. The Exilic and Postexilic period running till the close of the fourth century B. C. In our study of Genesis, we will be covering the first 12 chapters of Genesis which begins with the account of the Creation and ends with the call of Abraham. AUTHORSHIP The first 5 books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) were written by Moses. The interpenetration of themes occurs throughout these books. This five books written like an Ancient Near Eastern Suzerainty Treaty in his time forms a united document. Moses had the credentials of a prophet of God whose role was that of an administrator of God s covenant with Israel. He grew up at the height of the sophisticated culture of Egypt in pharaoh s palace and had the privileges of royalty and had access to the best education and library resources at that time. The bible also testified that he was the one whom the Lord knew face to face (Deut. 34:10).The New Testament witnesses to the writing of the Torah by Moses (John 1:45, 5:46f). The book of Genesis is a historical record of events, written by Moses who was inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16). 1 Vos Geerhardus, Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation, Ed. Richard Gaffin [P&R Reformed Publishing Company, 1980] pp NLPCA Escondido (WOMEN S BIBLE STUDY) on page 1 of 4

2 OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS 1:1 2:3 Prologue 1:1-13 Creation s kingdoms 1:14-31 Creature-kings 2:1-3 Creator-King 2:4 4:26 The generations of heaven and earth 2:5-25 Man s original beatitude 3:1-24 Entrance of sin 4:1-26 Man in exile 5:1 6:8 The generations of Adam 5:3 32 Covenant genealogy: Adam to Noah 6:1-8 Cult of Man 6:9 9:29 The generations of Noah 6:9-8:19 Diluvian covenant 8:20 9:17 Post-diluvian covenant 9:18-27 Covenant in prophecy 10:1 11:9 The generations of the sons of Noah 10:1-32 Diaspora of the nations 11:1-9 Dispersion from Babel 11:10-26 The generations of Shem 11:27 25:11 The generations of Terah 11:27-15:21 Abraham s kingdom inheritance 16:1-22:19 Abraham s dynastic heir 22:20 25:11 Royal Succession 25:12-18 The generations of Ishmael 36:1 37:1 The generations of Isaac 25:19 28:9 Isaac s inheritance and heir 28:10 35:29 Jacob s Syrian sojourn and return 36:1 37:1 The generations of Esau 37:2 50:26 The generations of Jacob 37:2 45:28 Jacob s kingdom-heirs 46:1 47:27 Israel s descent into Egypt 47:28 50:26 Israel s hope of restoration 2 2 Guthrie, D., Motyer, J. A. Eds., The New Bible Commentary Revised {MI: Wm B. Eerdmans Publisning Co} pp NLPCA Escondido (WOMEN S BIBLE STUDY) on page 2 of 4

3 GROUP DISCUSSION AND PRAYER 1. What does it mean to a person to know that God has revealed himself in history by his acts and his words and these are recorded in the Bible? 2. Share about how the knowledge of God blessed you as an individual, parent, grandparent? 3. Discuss ways and means of setting aside time for women with busy schedules to study for Bible Study. Share about women s struggles to glorify God and to enjoy him. 4. How does one apply the word of God in one s lives and in one s children s lives? 5. Think about the spiritual reality of living in the presence of God s throne constantly. What impact does it have on one s life? NLPCA Escondido (WOMEN S BIBLE STUDY) on page 3 of 4

4 PREP QUESTIONS FOR GENESIS CHAPTER 1 1. Think about how the universe is created? How did man come to be? What kind of theories are out there? What do you think? 2. What did God create first? What kind of heaven do these verses refer to? a. 1 Kings 8:27 b. 2 Cor. 12:2-4 c. Luke 23:43 d. Job What about the earth? What did it look like at the beginning of time? (verse 1-2) 4. In Genesis 1:3 when God said Let there be light was the sun and moon created yet? What do you think the source of that light is? Look up a. Revelation 4 b. Rev. 22:5 c. John 12: Look up the following verses regarding the epiphany of God (or Theophany, (Ancient Greek (ἡ) Θεοφάνεια, Τheophaneia) meaning "vision of God" or manifestation of God) a. (Genesis 1:3), Creation b. (Genesis 9:13), Noah c. (Genesis 15:17), Abraham d. (Exodus 3:2, Exodus 14:24) Israelites e. (John 1, 12:35 Acts 2:1-3) The Church 6. How was the creation of man different from the creation of animals? (Genesis 1:26-28) 7. Which day of creation was man s first day? What did God do on that day? NLPCA Escondido (WOMEN S BIBLE STUDY) on page 4 of 4

5 NLPCA Escondido (WOMEN S BIBLE STUDY) on page 5 of 4