Page 13 - Advanced Genesis - Creationism - Student Textbook

where this patch of paradise existed, Scripture provides clues when it mentions a river that separated
into four heads (Genesis 2:10). Therefore, some suggest the Garden was located somewhere near the
head of the Persian Gulf where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers merge. However, the entire geography of
the earth was cataclysmically altered by the flood of Genesis 6-9 and would’ve made the original
location undetectable. Obviously, the Garden was destroyed at that time.

From information in Genesis 2-11, mankind remained in one centralized location, likely close to their
ancestral land, until God called a man named Abraham and his wife out of “Ur of the Chaldeans”
(modern-day Iraq) and into Canaan (modern-day Syria, Jordan, and Israel). From there, he headed south
into Egypt for a short period before returning to what later became known as the Promised Land.
Genesis ends with Abraham’s descendants back in Egypt.

Though Scripture was meant for all of mankind, Moses would’ve been writing first and foremost to the
Hebrews coming out of Egypt. They had lived oppressed and enslaved, for four hundred years, in a
pagan land where people worshiped everything from the sun and moon to beetles. Though they likely
retained stories from their past, they didn’t have an accurate worldview. They needed to know who God
was, what He was like, and how they were to relate to and interact with Him. They also needed to know
where they came from, what their purpose was, and where they were headed.

Genesis helped the ancient Hebrews understand their world, including why it was filled with sin,
sickness, and death. They needed to know that life would not always remain so broken. One day, God
would fulfill the promise He had made in the garden (Gen. 3:15) and later to Abraham and his
descendants to remove sins curse and usher in His kingdom reign. Genesis launched the beginning of
the redemptive story fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah.
Main Theme and Purpose of Genesis

Genesis has been called a book of beginnings or origins for it tells of the origin of everything other than
God, the only pre-existing being. In this foundational book of Scripture, we learn of the origin of time,
space, and matter. We also learn the origin of man, marriage, the Jewish nation, sin, and the battle
between good and evil. Genesis reveals God’s continued faithfulness contrasted with mankind’s
continual failure and therefore sets the backdrop for grace.
A key word mentioned, in one variation or another, is “blessing” or “blessed.” In Genesis 1:22, God
blessed the creatures of the sea and the sky and told them to increase in number. In verse 28, He
blessed mankind and told them to increase in number. He blessed them again in 5:2. After the flood,
God blessed Noah and his sons, telling them to multiply (9:1), then Noah says of God, in 9:26, “Blessed
be the Lord, the God of Shem” (one of his sons).

This theme of blessing is prominent throughout “the Generations of Terah (Gen. 11:27-25:11)” as well.
God promises to bless Abram (later called Abraham) and all the nations through him and to make him a
blessing (12:2-3). Then, Genesis 14:19 tells us a “priest of God most High … blessed Abram, saying,
‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High … and blessed be God most High.” Bless or blessing is also
mentioned in 17:16, 20; 18:18; 22:17, 18; 24:1, 27, 31, 35, 48, 60; 25:11, along with numerous times in
relation to Abram’s son Isaac (26:3, 4, 12, 24, 29; 28:1, 3, 4, 6, 14; 30:27, 30; 31:55; 32:26, 29; 33:11;
35:9, including 23 times in chapter 27) and his grandson Jacob (39:5; 47:7, 10; and 15 times in chapters
48-49).

In Genesis 1 and 2, we learn God created a good and abundant world. He brought order and light to that
which was dark and chaotic. He, the ultimate life-giver, created life and gave all of humanity purpose—
to know and reflect Him. But man rebelled against God’s rule, demanded to be their own gods, and
chaos followed. In this, and the cycles of rebellion and self-destruction that follow, we understand that

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