Scripture Introduction
Last week Rebekah and I bought a ball of twine for our pole beans. It came wrapped in plastic with a hole through the middle so that the string was dispensed from the inside. As I wrapped the bean-poles, the packaging held the shape of the outer shell of string, even as the ball was emptied of its substance. When the last of the string was pulled out, the cellophane collapsed.
I would suggest that might be an apt metaphor for our culture’s interaction with the Bible and that “righteousness which exalts a nation” (Proverbs 14.34). During the last 100 years or so, the truths taught in the first 11 chapters of Genesis have been pulled from the structure of our society, but the results were not at first evident. As with our twine, the outer form remained intact through the 1920s and 30s, and even into the 50s. But the weakening proceeded, and the rebellions of the 1960s and 70s made clear that this “religious” nation was losing her soul. Now we see more plainly signs of collapse: confusion about marriage and gender, the inability to distinguish the church from the world, overdependence on the state, uncertainty about the purpose and goals of education, economic turmoil, rise of promiscuity and immorality…. The complete list would overwhelm us. What shall we do?
I think God would not have the primary response from his people to be crying, nor complaining, nor even condemning, though we may do some of each. Our main work, however, is to rebuild. When the lawnmower breaks, the wise man finds the owner’s manual. When the world is broken, we return to the beginning to lay again foundations that cannot be shaken. Thus we will study for several months the structures or “parameters for life” (Michael Ross) which God gives us in this book. To introduce the series, I have three texts to read; as I do so, please give your attention to God’s word.
[Read Genesis 1.1a; Job 38.4-7; Numbers 12.1-13. Pray.]
Introduction
We call the first book of the Bible, Genesis, after the way in which the Jewish scholars entitled their Greek translation “the beginning of the world.” The Hebrew name is simply the first word of the text: “in the beginning.” That title is appropriate, for Genesis is all about beginnings. The beginning of the universe, the beginning of time, of life, of humanity, of male and female, of sin, grace, judgment, marriage, economics, worship, death, sacraments, the church, the gospel. Nearly every doctrine pertaining to life and godliness begins here.
That helps explain why some people so stridently attack this book. The essential truths of the Bible, so hated by sinful men, remain intact and protected only as the ball of twine stays whole. To crush Bible doctrines, pull the string from where it starts. Discredit Genesis and the faith falls, for God here lays the foundations on which true religion must be built.
To get us started, I think it would be helpful if we answer three question: First, who wrote Genesis? Is the author reliable and from what sources did he draw his teaching? Second, why should we study Genesis? Are ancient writings relevant for modern people? Then, third, how do we prepare for Genesis? What heart issues threaten our hearing God in this Scripture?
1. Who Wrote Genesis? (Numbers 12)
The human author was Moses, and Numbers 12 tells us of his character which helps to verify the truthfulness of the text. At the same time, neither Moses nor any other person was alive “in the beginning,” so we need to know his source and if that is trustworthy.
1.1. Moses’ Humility Bolsters Our Confidence Numbers 12.3 tells us: “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.”
Without a doubt, Moses was a great leader. His courage shone when he faced down Pharaoh, a terror among men and the worst of tyrants. His wisdom was obvious, thus people waited for hours to have him decide disputes. His leadership skills were second to none – he lead a million slaves into a new land. He was determined, forceful, visionary, charismatic. Like many great leaders, Moses moved large mountains.
But he also had a quality which many leaders lack. Worldly management programs may think it unimportant, but real people know it is essential. Not cowardliness or compromise, but (as C. J. Mahaney defines humility), that willingness and ability to “honestly assess ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness” (Humility, 22). Moses was not confident in himself, but in his God; he was not proud of his accomplishments, but of God’s. In this he was especially like Jesus, for meekness or gentleness (as it is sometimes called) was a particularly winsome trait of the Lord. He calls you to himself, saying: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11.28-29).
An extremely popular business book during the last few years was Good to Great. The author, Jim Collins, studied why some companies push beyond good to become great. He said that the CEOs of great companies all shared two specific character qualities. First, they were driven people, they were willing to endure much to obtain success. Second, they were modest: “The good-to-great leaders never wanted to become larger-than-life heroes. They never aspired to be put on a pedestal or become unreachable icons. They were seemingly ordinary people quietly producing extraordinary results.” Those who worked for them consistently used words like “quiet, humble, modest, gracious” to describe them (quoted in Mahaney, 18).
Moses was a great man because he was humble. Like Jesus, he was strong and gentle, and he is trustworthy to teach us of the beginning of all things. Even so, he was not there at the beginning. So what source does Moses draw upon?
1.2. Moses’ Source Confirms Our Confidence
God says, Numbers 12.6-8: “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD.”
This is not the only place in which the Bible claims that God is the true source behind every human author. 2Peter 1.21 insists that “No prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” And 2Timothy 3.16: “All Scripture is breathed out by God….”
But there is a special significance in relation to Genesis. Many scholars honor the Bible as a great literature. They even marvel at the wonders of oral tradition passed down until writings preserved the stories. A critic may claim that a man named Noah survived a flood and created a fable with a religious context to explain the event to his grandchildren. The story was then told generation after generation until Moses transcribed it. But Genesis 1 refuses any such human explanations because it tells what happened before mankind.
This is why our worship today was through the lens of God’s eternality, and why we readfrom Job. When circumstances bloodied that poor man, he demanded the right to question God. Listen again, please, to God’s response in Job 38.2-7: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
In other words, God says to us, “Don’t quiz me about creation; I was there and you were not!” God may not choose to answer our every curiosity in Genesis, but he makes clear that this is the report of an eyewitness given directly to trustworthy Moses. And that means, dear people, that those truths which so prick our hearts and consciences are God’s truths. Genesis is not a place for the idly curious to hear fables from of old, a more ancient set of “Just So Stories.” Here is the manual for life, given by the owner. Third, please note that…
1.3. Moses’ Prayers Establish Our Confidence
When Miriam opposed her brother Moses, God struck her with leprosy. An when Moses pleaded, God healed her. Nor was this the first time that Moses prayed and God answered miraculously. Moses prayed and Egypt was plagued. Moses prayed and Israel was delivered. Moses prayed and seas were dried. Moses prayed and God’s wrath was quenched.
This is the third witness to the reliability of Genesis. First Moses’ character: he was a godly and humble man, one we can trust to tell us the truth. Second, Moses’ ear: he heard directly from God, whom we can trust because he alone was there when all things began. Now, third, Moses’ lips: he spoke, and God acted. We trust his book as God trusted his prayers. The solution begins in Genesis to so many of the questions we struggle to answer today.
2. Why Should We Study Genesis?
To organize our thoughts, let me put my reasons under three headings.
2.1. The New Testament Depends on Genesis
Christians should love and memorize their New Testaments. It is there we find the fullness of the revelation of God in his son. As we read earlier in the service: “the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1.17). We err, however, when we imagine that the New tells a different story than the Old. The whole Bible has but one Gospel – the good news of God’s Messiah. The doctrines which flower in the New Testament are planted in the Old. It is no exaggeration to insist that you cannot truly know God the Father or his son Jesus, without understanding the Old Testament, especially its prologue, Genesis 1-11.
So you say, “Pastor, give me an example.” Last week National Public Radio interviewed a lady minister who claimed that the religious right should not limit marriage to one man and one woman. She offered Jesus’ compassion and love as proof that such prejudices are outdated.
But how did Jesus respond when he was quizzed about marriage? Matthew 19.3-6: “Pharisees tested him by asking, ‘Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?’ He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and
female….’”
Even God the Son explains marriage with Genesis! In fact, as some Bible scholars have noted, the New Testament makes more use of Genesis than of the remaining Old Testament books combined. We must study the beginnings so as to hear and understand the end. A second reason is that most…
2.2. Biblical Doctrines Depend Upon Genesis
If every great Biblical teaching were a ball of twine on your shelf, when you picked up each the thread starts here.
2.2.1. Creation / Worship
Creation (of course) but the Bible goes on to point out that the maker must be adored and worshipped. Psalm 95.6: “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! One reason sinful people hate the doctrine of creation is because it humble us before the Creator.
2.2.2. Imago Dei (the image of God in mankind)
Cloning, eugenics, euthanasia, abortion, fetal tissue research, right to die, the body exhibit – a Biblical answer for these types of ethical questions begins with meditation on Genesis 1.27: “So God created man in his own image….”
Since this is an introductory sermon, I will simply list some others:
2.2.3. Law / Lawgiver (God’s Right to Make the Rules)
2.2.4. Satan and Temptation
2.2.5. Good and Evil
2.2.6. Sin and Fall
2.2.7. Judgment (there will be a reckoning for the life lived in the body)
2.2.8. Curse and Corruption
2.2.9. Grace
2.2.10. Sovereignty of God / Divine Election (who is in charge and why)
2.2.11. Reward and Punishment (consequences)
2.2.12. Covenants
2.2.13. Federal Headship (We are all influenced and sometimes bound by decisions others make)
2.2.14. Human Responsibility
2.2.15. Promise and Deliverance
2.2.16. Human Governments (and their authority)
Each of these touches our lives daily, whether we are aware or not. We learn how to react properly by understanding Genesis. A third division of reasons to study this book is that…
2.3. Societal Structures Depend Upon Genesis
Four great characters influence every aspect of our lives. Genesis describes them and their roles and importance.
2.3.1. First, God
God creates and defines life. He numbers our days and explains our purpose. Genesis explains that the universe is God-centered, and how we might find our way in his world. Every person seeks happiness; but how do obtain the good life? Is it by drinking more Miller beer, or might we need to tune our lives to the notes of reality?
2.3.2. Second, Family
Genesis makes the family God’s primary social structure. Our society will not find peace and healing until we structure our lives and the rules to build up and support the godly Biblical family. I saw an example this week which shocked me. I get by Brett Favre fix each day on NFL Total Access. They aired a roundtable discussion, prompted by the troubles of men like Plexico Burris, Brandon Marshall, Marshawn Lynch, and Michael Vick, about why some professional football players get in such trouble. I think the commentators were TO and Marshall Faulk and Warren Sapp. So three or four black men are talking about why so many black super-athletes have problems. And one of these guys said, “What is it that they all have in common? I will tell you what is different about each of these men who has had so much trouble with the law and so many problems. They don’t have fathers.”
That thread begins in Genesis. For complex and diverse reasons there is less value on fatherhood in the black community and culture, and the consequences are terrible.
2.3.3. Third, Church
The church is God’s people, separate from the world so that we might bless the world. The church cares for God’s people with less authority than the family, but more than the state. Genesis helps correct deficient views of the church.
2.3.4. Fourth, State
About 200 years ago, as the United States was beginning its experiment, Alexander Fraser Tytler wrote: “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been about 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to apathy;from apathy to dependence; from dependence back again to bondage” (Quoted in Torch, Cedarville University, Spring 2009, 8.)
The state should have less authority and influence on us than the other societal structures, so it must be beaten back. At the same time, Christians must realize that God ordained the state. Moses can teach us to honor God in government without making government our God. We need Genesis.
3. How Do We Prepare For Genesis?
In Luke 8.18, Jesus warns us to “take care how we hear.” Please consider three practical steps to obeying Christ.
3.1. Hear with a Submissive Heart
Genesis lends itself to curiosity seekers, and some of you may be anxious to check out what I say the dinosaurs or the size of the ark. Of course, curiosity is not always bad, but recognize that it can prevent us from hearing God. Come ready to meet God in his Word; ready to be encouraged, corrected, and trained in righteousness. Let us hear with submissive hearts.
3.2. Hear with a Faithful Heart
I will not be able to prove every point to those who doubt. Nor is that my goal or purpose. I seek to proclaim God through Genesis that you might believe the Word of God and the God of the Word. Many of us know Romans 10.17: “Faith comes from hearing….” But it is also true that hearing comes from faith. Hebrews 11.3: “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” Stir up your heart to believe God – this is the preparation you need for studying Genesis.
3.3. Hear with a Teachable Heart
C. S. Lewis entitled one of his books, God in the Dock. The dock is where the accused sits in the courtroom. Lewis is rebuking men for bringing God to trial.
Instead of trying God, let us be taught by God. Instead of loading our gun with questions, let us prepare our ears to hear. Those who are teachable often find that God tells us what we really need to know, even if he does not answer our every curiosity.
4. Conclusion
Genesis could cause us to say, like Miriam, “Has the Lord indeed spoken through
Moses?”
God’s answer is, “Yes, I have. Face to face, mouth-to-mouth. Jesus Christ believed what Moses wrote. Will we?
