Genesis

In short

The beginning – of the whole world (chapters 1-11), and then of the nation of Israel (chapters 12-50).

Why it is important

The teachings of Jesus and the apostles largely come from Genesis. If you remember last Monday’s lesson, that’s rather surprising, since Genesis is before (or outside of) the Old Covenant.

• Gal 3:8 says that “the gospel” was given to Abraham. Tell me that doesn’t give you whiplash!
• Jesus cites Gen 2:24 as the foundation of marriage (in Matt 19:4-6)
• Heb 6:20-7:28 says the coming of Jesus as priest and king was prophesied by Melchizedek (a story in Gen 14:18-20)
• Rom 4 makes the point that faith (a hallmark of Christianity) goes back to Abraham

Main characters

• God
• Abraham
• Jacob
• Joseph

What is in Genesis?

The rise of the nation of Israel, warts and all.

The first 11 chapters sprint through (at least) two millennia of human history, including:

• Creation
• Adam and Eve
• Cain and Abel
• Noah’s Ark
• The tower of Babel

The rest of the book is all about Abraham’s family.

The basic flow is:

• One child in a family is blessed (or blessed more than the others)
• The blessed child (usually not the first child, ironically) continues the legacy of Abraham
• The other child (or children) begins a nation that becomes an enemy to Israel

In detail:

• Abraham had Ishmael and Isaac
  • Isaac is blessed
  • Ishmael is sent away. He later becomes the nation of Islam (outside of the Bible)
• Isaac had Esau and Jacob
  • Jacob takes Esau’s birthright. Jacob is renamed Israel
  • Esau becomes the nation of Edom
• Jacob (Israel) has 12 sons
  • Judah is blessed to have the future messiah descended from him
  • The other sons are blessed also, but Judah is special
  • Even though these 12 sons will be unified as state-like divisions in the land of Israel, 10 of those states will break away into a depraved nation and be dissolved by the Assyrian empire, leaving only Judah to carry on Israel’s legacy