Greetings OYB readers,
Hopefully we are all beginning the year long adventure of reading the Bible beginning with Genesis. I wanted to share my first impressions of Genesis as a friendly guidepost on the road for fellow travellers, expecially those who may be reading it for the very first time. Here is a breif summary of what the book is about:
Biblical Author: The author of the Book of Genesis is not specifically named, but traditional holds that the author is Moses. We have no conclusive reason to deny the Mosaic authorship of Genesis.
Date Written: The Book of Genesis was likely written between 1440 and 1400 B.C., between the time Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and his death.
Genesis is God’s wondrous revelation of himself to us, his beloved creation. He wants us to know who he is and what he is. He is the creator of everything in the universe seen and unseen and he is holy and righteous. We also see that he desires a fellowship with man and is always moving forward to keep that right relationship fully connected.
As we start reading the Bible this new year and especially beginning in Genesis, I would suggest that you keep the right perspective on who God is and his relationship to his creation, the earth and man. You will find in the very first verse that God is not passive, but rather extremely active in his creation. It emphasizes God's sovereignty as a God of action over and over again. God was. God created. God said. God divided. God made. God called.
Three great aspects of God:
1) God's eternalness - before the world was made, God was. He is the eternal creator, with no beginning or end. He is from everlasting to everlasting, before and above all things. It is from Him that which all things emerge. First notice that his greatness is to be seen in that he is infinite, unbounded and eternal. We should stand open-mouthed and wide-eyed at the awesomeness of this revelation, that such a God as this is our creator.
2) God's power – God’s words are power! He speaks and worlds come into being instantly. It is done according to his word. The universe instantly obeys him, without delay or questions. He said, Let there be light - and so it was.
3) God's holiness – Notice how it is recorded that everything he made was good. His creation reflects his own goodness, his own holiness, his own perfection. His image is within everything he has made. Men everywhere, from all cultures and times know of the eternal God. In fact, find in the Romans 1:20 this revealing verse:
“For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
So as you can see from the beginning, the theme of Genesis is God’s eternal existence and His creation of the world. We also become aware that all people, regardless of culture, nationality or language, are accountable to the Creator. As believers, we rejoice in God’s plan for his creation because we are beginning to understand that he has a wonderful part for us to play. We can trust Him to handle all of the concerns in our lives by simply trusting and obeying Him. We will see how God does this in the recorded life stories of Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. Genesis will help us begin a new life journey that will change us and secure our future with our creator. Don’t miss this adventure of a lifetime.
Does anyone else have something that they could add to help new readers navigate this great book of the Bible?
Thanks for reading,
Lance Muller
Fearful To Fearless | Fear Not - Don't Worry - Fear God brings together almost 400 passages of scripture to demonstrate or direct us to not be afraid, to not worry or be anxious, to look to Christ for strength and comfort, and be transformed to have a worshipful fear and awe of God.
