Genesis Study

Chapter One

We all know that Genesis is the first book of the Bible. When people think about Genesis, they mainly only think about the origin or creation. Well, as you probably assumed, there is much much more included in the book of Genesis. 

Yes, the first chapter talks about God creating the heavens and the earth, but let's take a closer look at some verses.

​"God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness." - Genesis 1:4

"God called the dry ground 'land', and the gathered waters he called 'seas.' And God saw that it was good." - Genesis 1:10

"The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good." - Genesis 1:12

"God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good." - Genesis 1:17-18

"So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good." - Genesis 1:21

"God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according with their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good." - Genesis 1:25

"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day." - Genesis 1:31

​​I encourage you to read all of chapter one along with me, but I want to draw your attention to the above verses. Does anything jump out at you? It should. In seven out of the first thirty-one verses in the Bible, God makes it a point to say that everything he created was good. God did not create anything bad, nor has He ever. God is all knowing, the Prince of Peace, Christ our Lord, and He is GOOD! I point this out because I want you to remember that God is good all the time. Not sometimes, ALL the time. 

Chapter Two

Chapter Two starts with the seventh day, "Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done" - Genesis 2:3.

The rest of chapter two talks about Adam and the creation of his wife, Eve. 

"The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'" - Genesis 2:18

"So the man gave names to all of the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found." - Genesis 2:20

"The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman for she was taken out of man.'" - Genesis 2:23

"That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." - Genesis 2:24

A few things stick out to me in this chapter. One, God knew that it would be better for a man to have a helper. God created all these living creatures, and we cannot begin to imagine how beautiful it was then, but even with all these creatures, Adam did not have one that resembled his liking. Two, God says that when a man and woman unite as one, they are to leave their families behind and be fully committed to each other. As hard as that concept is to grasp, it has been commanded. I am a big family person. I tend to always put my family before anything else, as my fiancé does too. Significant others will not always see eye to eye. They may have family keeping them on a short string, but once they get married, they are to leave their family to be with their spouse. Luckily, many families are supportive and cooperative of their children's marriages, so this is not a very common issue. 

Chapters Three and Four

Chapter three tells the story of Adam and Eve eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. A serpent tells Eve that if she eats the fruit from this tree that she will become wise like God, knowing good and evil. Eve agrees to take a bite. She then turns to Adam and offers some of the fruit to him. Adam also took a bite. This is when sin entered the world. Their eyes were opened to knowing good from evil.

Chapter four tells the story of Adam and Eve’s two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain became jealous of Abel because Abel’s offerings to the Lord were more accepted than the offerings he brought. Cain became so enraged with anger and jealousy that he killed his brother Abel. God put a curse on Cain where he could no longer produce any crops and he would be a restless wanderer on earth. Adam and Eve went on to have more sons and daughters in place of Abel.

Chapters Five through Nine

Again, I want to remind you that I am only hitting the highlights that jumped out to me. There is so much more in the Bible than what I am talking about. Chapters five through nine talk about Noah’s ark, and God flooding the world. 

“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, ‘I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” – Genesis 6:5-8

“And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.” – Genesis 7:5

“The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.” – Genesis 7:24

“The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: ‘Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.’” – Genesis 8:21

Going off the first verse and the last verse that I have listed, God controls everything. He may have giving us free will, but He is ultimately in control of our destiny. If we stray away from His commands and from his righteousness, He has the power and authority to punish us for our actions. God has said that humans are evil in nature, ever since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. We know that God does not lie, and we also know that God keeps His promises. The fourth verse that I highlighted talks about how God promises to never flood the earth again. He says that He will never destroy all living creatures as he did with the flood. So, all the people that claim every living creature on earth will perish by a certain time, have been proved wrong by the book of Genesis. Yeah, there may be climate change, but there has always been climate change. Yeah, there may be wars, but there have always been wars. Yeah, there may be a global pandemic right now, but God is in control of it. 

The next verse that I want to briefly discuss is Genesis 7:5. I have seen several places in the Bible talking about people doing all that the Lord has commanded them, and I think this is very important to see. We, as innately evil creatures, will drift away from the word of God many times in our lives. BUT this does not mean that we should do whatever we want because we have already sinned. These verses would not be in the Bible if they were not meant for us to learn something. Us humans with free wills still need to obey God’s words and do all that he has commanded of us. 

I just through in the third verse because it surprised me. I grew up going to church and going to vacation bible schools, and I know the story of Noah’s ark. Or so I thought. I knew that it rained for forty days and forty nights, that every living animal was on the ark in a pair, that Noah sent out a dove to see if the land was dry, but I did not know (or did not remember) that the earth remained flooded for five months. It is just a reminder to keep reading and re-reading God’s words.

Chapters Eighteen and Nineteen

These chapters mention how Abraham pleads with God for the safety of Sodom and how God goes about the destruction of the city. 

“The Lord said, ‘If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.’ Then Abraham spoke up again: ‘Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?’ ‘If I find forty-five there,’ He said, ‘I will not destroy it.’ Once again, he spoke to him, ‘What if only forty are found there?’ He said, ‘For the sake of forty, I will not do it.’ Then he said, ‘May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?’ He answered, ‘I will not do it if I find thirty there.’ Abraham said, ‘Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?’ He said, ‘For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.’ Then he said, ‘May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?’ He answered, ‘For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.’” – Genesis 18:26-32

“because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.” – Genesis 19:13

“When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, ‘Flee for your lives! Don’t look back and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!’” – Genesis 19:16-17

“But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” – Genesis 19:26

What I gather from the first selection of verses is that God is merciful. If there is a child of God standing in the way of God punishing someone or a group of people, God will wait. He will bring no harm to his own children. Remember this when you feel as if God has hurt your or forsaken you, because He has not if you are a child of God. You may feel this way, but He is just guiding you down another path that is more right for you. Life may have its trials and tribulations, but God will not put you in a situation that you cannot handle. 

The last three selections are all speaking of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. God had sent angels into Sodom to extract God’s chosen people, Lot and his family. Then the angels tell Lot and his family to keep running from the city and to not look back at it. Lot’s wife, while fleeing with her family, stopped to turn around. Once she looked back unto the city of Sodom she turned into a pillar of salt. This still goes along with the first selection of verses because you must trust in God. We must listen to his words and take them for what they are. God will not lead us down the wrong path.

Chapters Thirty-seven through Fifty

The end of Genesis is mainly about the story of Joseph and his family. If you are like me, you have heard the story of how Joseph was sold by his brothers because their father favored him. You know that Joseph went on the be a prisoner in Egypt and had interpreted dreams for other prisoners and that his interpretation came true. You also know that once the Pharaoh learned of Josephs gift, that he was brought into the palace and everyone then came to listen to his words. These verses are not so much about this story, but more about what I have read them as. 

“What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord put him to death also.” – Genesis 38:10

“The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.” – Genesis 40:23

“I cannot do it, Joseph relied to Pharaoh, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” – Genesis 41:16

“I look for your deliverance Lord.” -  Genesis 49:18

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” – Genesis 50:20

I read this first verse as a warning to us, so we will not do what is wicked in the sight of the Lord. We know that everybody is a sinner, but we should strive to do our best to obey His laws and orders so that we are not put to an eternal death. The second verse is a reminder that even though Joseph told the cupbearer to the Pharaoh to not forget him, he did. This hit me because no matter how much we want someone to do something for us, or how much we wish about something, that if the person is not invested, it will not happen. We should not put our hopes and dreams into things of this world, but into the heavenly realm. The third and fourth verses also go along with the second. The third one reminds us to humble ourselves because we could not amount to anything if it were not for the Lord’s work in our lives. God allows all things to happen for good and for the glory of Him. The fourth verse was said from the death bed of Jacob while he was blessing his sons. He knew that without God’s support and blessing that his sons would not be blessed. We should all look for the Lord’s deliverance. The final verse I chose from the book of Genesis is one that nibbled my heartstrings. We have all experienced the bad mouthing and the hurt that came from someone we thought we could trust. Yes, it really hurt in the moment, and could even still sting now, but God uses all things for good. While we may have lost ourselves a friend, our eyes have been opened to the true nature of that person. It was best to get away from that toxicity and to walk in a new direction with the Lord. The Lord will use you and your experiences to help others through their tough times.

Closings

Wrapping up our study of the book of Genesis, I wanted to remind you that these are my thoughts my interpretations of these verses. They may hit you a different way. Also, friendly reminder to read for yourself what the Bible says. I have just summarized only some of the stories in this book, but I encourage you to read to get more of the big picture.

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