Excellent resources are the ministry of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Research Institute. However, there are questions in Genesis not answered until the Gospels. Let’s look at some of those questions.
At creation, God described humanity as “very good.” Are we now totally depraved or partially depraved, tainted by that disobedience to a simple command: don’t touch that tree? Has sin totally destroyed the “very good” in the creation called humanity?
Long before the covenant made at Mount Sinai, another individual, Abraham trusted God and obeyed a simple command, leave your country. Is such uncomplicated faith in action the basis of a living faith versus the inaction of a dead faith?
Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son of promise, is filled with complex emotions and a simple faith that God had made a promise regarding that same son. Symbolically, we are reminded of our Father in heaven, whose Son died for our sins. Through his incarnation, He became a descendant of that same family. It was a family with glaring faults and a simple trust in God. Do we also have glaring faults? Do we also have a simple trust in God? You decide!
Genesis is the first book of Moses, of the law, of the Pentateuch, of the Torah. How does Old Testament law relate to Christians? What does it mean that the Old Testament law applies in spirit and not in the letter, because the letter kills but the spirit gives life (Hebrews 4:12)?
Are we circumcised of the heart, not the flesh (Romans 2:25-29)? Are hatred and verbal abuse the same spirit as murder (Matthew 5:21-26)? Is lust in our hearts the same spirit as adultery (Matthew 5:27–32)? Do we rest in Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30) but a specific day of rest is no longer commanded (Romans 14:5-6)? Are we to no longer judge one another over such things as food laws and worship days? Were they a shadow of the things to come (Colossians 2:16)?
The Old Testament is built on a series of covenants: e.g. Noahic, Abrahamic, Sinaitic (Mosaic), the Davidic and Levitical covenants.
Sin & Grace
Genesis 1-11 reveals God as the designer and creator of all things. It records sin, missing the mark, moral evil, going astray, lawlessness. We see how God deals with such issues of human corruption, disobedience, murder, lust, immorality, and violence. We also see how God’s punishment of sin is contrasted with His grace.
In punishment, God expelled our first parents from the garden, limited human life spans, sent the flood, cursed the tower and instituted physical death.
In grace, God often withheld the death penalty, Cain was protected with a mark, Noah was preserved, and despite sin, God allowed people to reproduce.
We are introduced to patriarchs and matriarchs, their imperfections and their faith. Is it that faith that will eventually form the basis of a new covenant?
2 Ways of Life
We can discern two overall directions which people took. The way of Cain, (Genesis 4) a society which became worse and worse (e.g. Lamech's reign of terror), and the way of Seth (Genesis 5), a people who began to call on the name of the Lord and walk with God.
Four Faithful Men
In Genesis 12-50 we are introduced to four faithful men. God called Abram. What was required of him? Was it obedience – a responsive faith? Is that also required of us today?
The promise to Abram is a narrative strand through the rest of Genesis. Why Abram? God did not do this for him alone, but for all the families of the earth. A blessing on the life of anyone is for the sake of others, and it's God's prerogative alone. God blesses his people today not because we are extraordinary, but because there is work to be done (Genesis 13; 15; 17; 22), and because he wants to see all people blessed. This is the gospel, according to Paul (Galatians 3:8).
Why are Genesis 10 and 11 out of time order? Ancient writers were not always concerned with things being in perfect chronological order, but in teaching valuable lessons. Perhaps Genesis 11 and 12 are together as a lesson. Why? In Genesis 11 people tried to make their name great, but God cursed their efforts. In chapter 12 God promised to make Abraham's name great. A name is not something we give to ourselves, it is something God gives. What made Abram distinctive was his call, not his background.
How can we summarize the promise to Abram? Descendants, a relationship with God, and the promised land. These 3 ingredients are expounded in the rest of the Pentateuch: Genesis (descendants), Exodus & Leviticus (a relationship with God), Numbers & Deuteronomy (the promised land).
Why the emphasis on descendants? The seed of Abraham is not merely a natural occurrence. God had to intervene so Sarah could bear a child. He created a people by divine election, just as today Christians are a people created by divine election. A main component of the covenant relationship was faith, a component Israel once lacked. Being an Israelite or a physical descendant of Abraham is not enough. We must believe (Galatians 3:7) and become a spiritual seed of Abraham through faith!
Abraham's descendants Isaac, Jacob and Joseph were a partial fulfillment of the promise. When and how is the complete fulfillment of this promise (Romans 4:11-12)? It’s a mystery that begins to be revealed in Genesis. Will you come along for the ride? Are there answers in Genesis or an abundance of mysteries and questions for which there are answers only found much later in human history, in the Gospels? You decide!
