Major Themes in Genesis
02.23.22
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
Genesis means ‘beginning’ or ‘origin.’ It shows the beginning of life, death, the curse, the family, redemption, and the nation of Israel, among other things. It’s key verse is our opening text.
The first eleven chapters show God’s work with the world in general, and cover four important events: the Creation, the Fall, the Flood and the Dispersion at Babel. These chapters cover 2000 years, or one-third of human history. This is as much as the rest of the Old Testament, and the period of time from the birth of Christ until now! They are pivotal to our belief system, to the foundation of the Holy Scriptures. In fact, the entirety of Genesis must be accepted as factual. Otherwise, we have no foundation for our faith. Jesus and the Apostles saw it as real history, and Genesis is quoted many times in the NT.
The rest of the chapters, 12-50, show God’s work in the world through the nation of Israel. It covers the lives of four important men: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.
Let us focus briefly on the major themes in this very important first book of the Bible. First, there is Creation (Genesis 1, 2). There are many views of Creation, but this author takes the position that these chapters give a literal presentation of what God did. God was there when it happened. He revealed the events to Moses. The Triune God spoke the world into existence in six literal days, and rested on the seventh day.
The second theme is the Fall of Mankind (Genesis 3). Adam and Eve were to guard the Garden of Eden, but somehow they let the serpent in. They obeyed one of God’s creations rather than their Creator. They brought sin into the world, paid the price of lost fellowship with God, and began to die.
Third, we have the Great Flood (Genesis 9, 10). The Flood wass literal and universal. It answers all the questions evolutionists have about how the earth is as it is. Many people fail to believe in Noah’s Flood because it would presume there is a God who must be obeyed.
The fourth theme is the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). Having turned away from God, people intuitively set about building a city for themselves. This illustrates two things about mankind: the capacity of people to achieve great things, and the audacity of humans to reject God’s sovereignty over them. God dispersed humanity over the whole earth through the creation of languages.
Theme number six is the call of Abraham (Genesis 12). The land of Canaan, what is now known as Israel, is promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Messiah is foreseen as the promise of blessing to all nations through Abraham’s seed.
The final grand theme of the book of Genesis is the faith of Abraham (Genesis 15, 22). Abraham trusted God’s promise for his seed and for the land. He had a strong unwavering faith in his God, though many promises would not be fulfilled in his lifetime.
As noted previously, our Lord Jesus is pictured throughout the book. He is the promised seed who would one day be bruised in the heel and crush the serpent’s head. These were accomplished at Calvary and the empty tomb. What a wonderful Savior! Have you placed your trust in Him? He longs to be your Savior and Lord.