Genesis: Introduction

I'm absolutely thrilled to be starting a new series with you on the book of Genesis. Before we dive into our daily devotions through this foundational text, I wanted to take some time today to provide a bit of context and background that will help us as we journey through this remarkable book together.

The Book of Beginnings

Genesis, as many of you know, means "beginnings" or "origins," and that's exactly what this book gives us: the beginning of everything. It's the opening chapter of God's redemptive story, the foundation upon which the entire biblical narrative is built. In Genesis, we find the origins of the universe, humanity, sin, God's covenant people, and the first glimpses of God's redemptive plan.

The book spans an enormous timeline—from creation itself through to the death of Joseph in Egypt, covering what scholars estimate to be around 2,000 years of human history. That's a staggering amount of time compressed into just 50 chapters!

Authorship and Composition

Traditionally, Genesis has been attributed to Moses, along with the rest of the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Bible. This view has strong support from both Jewish tradition and later biblical references. Jesus himself refers to "the Law of Moses" in the New Testament, seeming to affirm Mosaic authorship.

Now, modern scholarship has raised various theories about the composition of Genesis, including suggestions that it was compiled from multiple sources or traditions. The so-called Documentary Hypothesis suggests four main sources, often labeled J (Yahwist), E (Elohist), D (Deuteronomist), and P (Priestly).

While we acknowledge these scholarly discussions, in our Reformed understand, we hold to the fact that Moses wrote this. Jesus said it, and that’s good enough for us.

What's most important for us to remember Genesis is divinely inspired Scripture. As 2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us, "All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."

Structure and Content

Genesis naturally divides into two major sections:

The first eleven chapters give us what we might call "primeval history". This is the creation of the world, the fall into sin, the flood, and the tower of Babel. These chapters answer the big questions of human existence: Where did we come from? What went wrong? Why is there suffering? Why are there different nations and languages?

Then, from chapter 12 onward, Genesis zooms in to focus to the story of one family. The family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Through this family, God begins to unfold his plan to bless all nations. We follow their journey from Ur of the Chaldeans to the promised land of Canaan, and eventually to Egypt, where the book concludes.

A key literary feature of Genesis is the repeated phrase "these are the generations of..." or in Hebrew, "toledot." This phrase appears ten times throughout the book, providing a structural framework and helping us navigate the narrative.

Theological Significance

It's almost impossible to overstate the theological importance of Genesis. It establishes foundational doctrines that reverberate throughout the rest of Scripture:

The doctrine of creation ex nihilo—that God created everything out of nothing by the power of his word.

The doctrine of humanity—that we are made in God's image with inherent dignity and purpose.

The doctrine of sin—that humanity has fallen from its original state through disobedience.

The doctrine of covenant—that God relates to his people through promises and agreements.

And perhaps most importantly, the doctrine of redemption—that despite human rebellion, God has a plan to restore what was lost.

In Genesis, we see the first promise of the gospel in Genesis 3:15, sometimes called the "protoevangel," where God promises that the seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head. This is the first glimpse of Christ in Scripture, the first promise that God will send a Redeemer. The snake stomper promise!

Reading Genesis Today

As we approach Genesis in our devotional series, we'll be reading it both historically and theologically. We'll seek to understand what the text meant to its original audience while also exploring how it fits into God's larger redemptive story that culminates in Christ.

We'll read Genesis as history. The stuff that happened in Genesis are real events that happened to real people. But we'll also read it theologically. These stories also point us forward to Jesus.

For example, Adam is a type of Christ (as Paul explains in Romans 5), Noah's ark points forward to how we are kept safe in Christ, and Joseph's suffering that ultimately results in good, point us forward to when Jesus suffered and ultimate good came to earth.

So Genesis is an ancient story, but it is also our story.

It tells us where we came from, tells us what is wrong, and points us forward to what fixes us. It points us forward to the second Adam, Jesus Christ, who succeeded where the first Adam failed.

Looking Ahead

In the days to come, we'll walk through Genesis chapter by chapter, verse by verse. We'll explore the creation account, the tragic fall, the catastrophic flood, the confusion at Babel, and the lives of the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.

As we journey through this book together, my prayer is that we'll gain a deeper appreciation for God's sovereignty, his faithfulness to his promises, and the unfolding of his redemptive plan.

Tomorrow, we'll begin with Genesis 1 and we will see how God speaks worlds into existence. I hope you will join me, and invite a few friends along to join us on the journey.

See you then.