SYNTHESIS OF GENESIS
AUTHOR: Moses (why?)
1. Genesis is a part of the Pentateuch (5 books of the Law) which both Scripture and tradition ascribe to Moses.
A. Josephus in speaking of the O.T. said that there are “twenty-two books--and of them five belong to Moses”.
B. Luke 24:27, 44; John 1:45 - the Jews spoke of the O.T. as “the Law and the Prophets” or as the “Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets”, the Law being the Pentateuch.
C. The Law (5 books) were written by Moses. (Josh. 1:7; Neh. 8:1, 14; John 5:45-47)
2. Moses was best equipped to write (cf. Acts 7:22)
A. Providentially prepared through his training
B. A prophet to whom was granted the unusual privilege of unhurried hours of communion with God on Sinai
C. An individual who was of great power and faith, and who enjoyed intimate fellowship with God
DATE
1 Of coverage: from creation to the death of Joseph; of man’s history, 2,369 years.
2. Of writing: about 1500 years B.C.
THEME: BEGINNINGS (Genesis)
1. The Beginning of the Material Universe (1:1-25)
A. V. 1 gives us the original creation.
B. Isaiah 45:18 tells us that God did not create as we find it in v. 2.
C. II Peter 3:5, 6 suggests the possibility of an original creation destroyed.
D. The six days were days of reconstruction.
2. The Beginning of the Human Race (1:26-2:25)
A. Man is created. He does not evolve.
1) His body - fashioned out of existing materials (FORMED - asah) (2:7)
2) His spirit - created from that which did not exist before (CREATED - bara) (1:26)
3) NOTE - the word for create (bara) is used only of a direct act of God. Thus the possibility of man’s evolution of his present status through his own selection is made void.
B. Man is placed in charge of an earthly paradise (Eden). (2:8-25)
3. The Beginning of Human Sin (3:1-7)
A. Tampering with the Word of God. The Word is subtracted from and added to.
1) v. 1 - “every tree” - addition
2) v. 2 - “the tree which is in the midst of the garden” - addition (cf. 2:9)
3) v. 3 - “neither shall ye touch it” - addition
4) v. 4 - “ye shall not surely die” - subtraction
5) v. 5 - “ye shall be as gods” (God) - addition
B. She “saw, took, gave” (v. 6, cf. Josh. 7:21; I John 2:16)
C. Sin entered because of the rejection of God’s Word. The same condition prevails today:
1) Rejection of the Living Word (Christ) (John 1:11)
2) Rejection of the Written Word (Bible) (Rom. 1:18)
4. The Beginning of Revelations of Redemption (3:8-24)
A. The first promise of a Redeemer (v. 15)
B. The first innocent blood shed for the remission of man’s sins (v. 21) (Typology)
5. The Beginning of Family Life (4:1-15)
A. The first family (vs. 1, 2; cf. 5:4)
B. The first family quarrel. A quarrel over religion. (vs. 3-7)
C. The family is the very first institution of God. The only others, in their order are, the state and the church.
6. The Beginning of Godless Civilizations (4:16-9:29)
A. The first city built (4:16, 17)
B. The first “big city” murder (4:23) (“For I have slain a man for wounding me, and a young man for bruising me.” ASV)
C. The first animal husbandman (4:20)
D. The first musician (4:21)
E. The first machinist (4:22) (“The forger of every cutting instrument of copper and iron” ASV)
F. The first general judgment of God by means of a universal flood. (6:13-8:19)
7. The Beginning of the Nations of the World (ch. 10)
A. The names in the genealogy of ch. 10 represent the fathers of all the original nations of the earth.
B. All modern races sprang from the three sons of Noah.
1) Ham and his sons - settled in Africa. (vs. 6-20) (apparently the seed of the Black race)
2) Shem and his sons - settled in the middle east and orient. Shem is the father of those of the Semitic race. (vs. 21-31)
3) Japheth and his sons - settled in Europe and became the progenitor of the Caucasian race. (vs. 1-5)
4) Every nation on earth can trace its beginnings back to its founder listed in Gen. 10.
C. All the nations listed were united in the days immediately succeeding the flood. (11:4)
1) They had one leader - Nimrod. (Gen. 10:8-10)
2) They had one government - its capitol was Babel. (11:9)
3) They had one purpose - to become greater than God. (11:4)
4) They had one language. (11:6)
D. The attempt at unity apart from God was judged by the confusion of languages. (11:7-9)
E. This same kind of attempt to unify all mankind apart from God will be repeated under the reign of the Antichrist. Rev. 13
8. The Beginning of the Hebrew Race (chs. 12-50)
A. Meet the characters:
1) Abraham (12-23)
2) Issac (24-27)
3) Jacob (28-36)
4) Joseph (37-50)
B. A history of God’s dealing with a particular nation through which He would bless the earth
MESSAGE
1. God and man are intimately related.
A. God created man in His own image. (1:26, 27)
B. God governs man for man’s own good - as seen in His dealings in the flood and at the Tower of Babel.
C. God loves man - thus providing redemption.
2. Man realizes his own life by faith in God.
A. Faith is the simple law of life. Obedience of faith is stated at the outset of man’s relationship with God.
B. Failure in faith is failure in life as seen clearly in the destruction of a once total relationship between God and Adam.
C. Faith may differ in expression.
1) Abraham - obedient
2) Issac - passive
3) Jacob - restless
4) Joseph - patient
PERMANENT VALUES:
1. THEOLOGY - the science of God
2. COSMOGONY - the science of the universe
3. ANTHROPOLOGY - the science of man
4. SOCIOLOGY - the science of society
5. HAMARTIOLOGY - the science of sin
6. ETHNOLOGY - the science of races
7. SOTERIOLOGY - the science of salvation