Note: When doing a study on a book in the Bible you use a lot of resources. The major influence for me on this study of Genesis is The Genesis Record by Henry Morris.
Introduction
Genesis and Revelation are two of the most disputed books of the Bible. These books have been debated for centuries. Almost every argument about the Bible stems from these books. It has in one sense shied us away from these books they seem to be controversial or maybe they seem to be hard to interpret. But it is not true. That is the reason I wanted to begin a study on the book of Genesis.
Genesis is the foundation of the Bible. I believe that without this book then the world would not make sense. Gensis is known as the book of beginning or origins. In it we find the beginning of many things such time, creation, man(Adam), woman(Eve), origin of sin(in the garden), sabbath(the day the Lord rested), marriage(b/t Adam and Eve), establishment of family(birth of Cain and Abel), labor, civilization, culture, cities, murder, sacrifice, the development of races and language, the promise of redemption. All these began in the book of Gensis
This is the reason why it is so debated. It is believed that if you can discredit Genesis then you will discredit the foundation of the Jewish and Christian religions. Some do this by saying that the book is not inspired but there are many proofs of this book in the New Testament.
Jesus Quotes from this book in
New Testament Proof of Genesis
Matthew 19:4
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he
which made [them] at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother,
and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What
therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Matthew 24:37
37 But as the days of Noe [were], so shall also the coming of
the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the
day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away;
so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mark 10:4
4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement,
and to put [her] away.
5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of
your heart he wrote you this precept.
6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and
female.
7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and
cleave to his wife;
8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more
twain, but one flesh.
9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put
asunder.
Luke 11:49 , Luke 17:26 , Luke 17:32
32 Remember Lot’s wife.
John 1:5
5. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness
comprehended it not.
John 7:21 ,John 8:44 ,John 8:56 ,John 1:5 ,John 7:21 ,John 8:44
44 Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your
father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and
abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he
speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the
father of it.
John 8:56
The author
It is safe to believe that Moses was the author of Genesis.
Why do we need to study Genesis?
Genesis tells us who created the earth? Ge 1:1, Heb 1:10, Mark 13:19
Genesis 1:1 reads in the Beginning God created" there is no debate or doubt about it. We see that God created the earth. The Bible doesn’t go into any detail trying to prove this but it assumes it from the beginning. God created no doubt.
Genesis tells us how God created the earth? Gen 1-2
This idea of how the earth was created has been around since the beginning of time. There are other theories of the earth that are out there but no one can boast of this time length. Scientists have been studying creation for many centuries but have still not disproven Genesis.
Divisions
If you study the Bible from covenant stand point you will see that out of the eight covenants Genesis covers half. Edenic(in the garden of Eden), Adamic(made with Adam), Noahic, and Abrahamic which leaves Mosaic, Palastanian, Davidic and New Covenant
Some Divisions
The Book of The Generations
Heaven and Earth Gen 1-2:6
Adam Ge 2:7-6:8
Noah Ge 6:9-9:29
Sons of Noah Gen 10:1-11:9
Shem Gen 11:27-25:11
Terah Gen 25:12-18
Ishmael Gen 25:12-18
Isaac Gen 25:19-35:29
Esau Gen 36:1-37:1
Jacob Gen 37:2-50:26
Division by time and events
Gen 1-11 2000 yrs
Gen 12-50 350 yrs
Gen 1-11 the creation, the fall, the flood, the Tower of Babel
Gen 12-50 Abraham the man of faith
Isaac the beloved son
Jacob the chosen and chastened
Joseph his sufferings and glory
We see that God begins dealing with man from a universal status in the garden of Eden then on until he starts on a individual basis with Abraham. Then with Abraham he begins to deal with a particuliar race.
We see in Genesis 1-11 universal man
12-50 God deals with a race
this is the same until the New Testament and the coming of Christ.
