Page 13 - Genesis: Book of Beginnings and Science Behind it

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. For four hundred years, they had lived oppressed and enslaved 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, their purpose, 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 His promise in the Garden (Gen. 3:15) and later to Abraham and his descendants to remove
sin’s curse and usher in His kingdom’s 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. This foundational book of Scripture teaches us 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 that God’s continued faithfulness contrasts with mankind’s
continual failure and sets the backdrop for grace.

In one variation or another, a keyword mentioned 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 said 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 Tarah (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 that 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 humanity a
purpose—to know and reflect Him. But man rebelled against God’s rule, demanded to be their gods,
and chaos followed. In this, and the cycles of rebellion and self-destruction that follow, we understand
that God gave us a beautiful, bountiful world, but we corrupted it. This theme of God’s goodness, man’s
rebellion, and the consequences of that rebellion plays out in the generations that follow.

Genesis 1-3: God created a perfect world filled with abundance and sin-free. Through a tree known as
the tree of Good and Evil, God presented mankind with a choice: honor Him or act as their own gods.
They chose rebellion and were cast out of the garden, their relationship with God and one another
broken.

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