I’ve felt an urging lately, like a hunger, to dive deeper into the Word of God in my quiet time. I’m taking you on this journey with me because I want to not only read the Bible, I want to study it. And I’m doing it in chronological order.
In reality, it’ll probably take me a couple years to get through the entire Bible, especially with the in-depth research I want to do for each book.
A quick disclaimer: I am not a Bible scholar, a pastor, a theology major, or an expert in any way, shape, or form. I am simply a woman after God’s own heart. What you will read in these posts will be a combination of scripture, notes from my own research, and my own observations gleaned from reading aforementioned scripture and research.
We’re starting our journey in Genesis, obviously. Before we get into the scripture itself, let’s talk briefly about the book of Genesis.
ABOUT GENESIS
Genesis is the first book of the Bible and the first book of the Pentateuch. The Torah was separated into five books, the five books of Moses, and referred to as the Pentateuch, which literally translates to “five books” in Greek. The five books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Genesis can be broken into two parts: chapters 1-11 cover primeval history, which tells the story of Creation and the relationship between God and man; chapters 12-50 cover the prehistory of Israel, the patriarchal history.
Many Old and New Testament scriptures recognize Moses as the author of Genesis.
GENESIS 1
READ: Genesis 1 HCSB
The first chapter of Genesis outlines the first six days of Creation, basically giving us a play-by-play of the order in which God created the universe, the earth, and every living creature on earth, including mankind.
“In the beginning God…” – the first part of verse 1: four simple words that speak so much truth. From these four words, we can gather so many key truths.
- God exists.
- God existed before the universe was created and will continue to exist long after the universe is gone.
- God is the Creator of the universe, therefore the universe depends on Him.
- God is the subject of the entire Bible.
The First Six Days of Creation
Day 1: God created light then separated light from the darkness. He called the light “day” and the darkness “night”. (vs. 3-5)
Day 2: God created an expanse between the waters and called the expanse “sky”. (vs. 6-8)
Day 3: God separated water from dry land. He called the land “earth” and the gathering of water “seas”. God then commanded the earth to produce vegetation in two forms: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees. (vs. 9-13)
Day 4: God created the sun, moon, and starts, giving the sun dominion over the day and the moon dominion over the night. He gave specific purposes for these lights in the sky: to serve as signs for festivals and for days and years. (vs. 14-19)
Day 5: God filled the water and sky with living creatures, each according to their kind (specific species). God blessed them, telling them to be fruitful and multiply. (vs. 20-23)
Day 6: God filled the earth with living creatures, each according to their kind. God then referred to Himself in plural saying, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” (vs. 26) God created man, both male and female, to rule the fish of the sea, birds of the sky, and the livestock and creatures of the earth. God blessed them, telling them to be fruitful and multiply.
God also commanded man to subdue the earth, rule it and the creatures on it. God told man He created seed-bearing plants and fruit trees to serve as food. (v. 24-31)
OBSERVATIONS FROM GENESIS 1
When God speaks, the universe changes.
- vs. 3: ‘Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ‘
- vs. 6-7:’Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.” So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. ‘
- vs. 9: ‘Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ‘
- vs. 14-15: ‘Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for festivals and for days and years. They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.” And it was so. ‘
- vs. 20: ‘Then God said, “Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” ‘
- vs. 24: ‘Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. ‘
- vs. 26: ‘Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” ‘
Seven times in chapter 1, God saw that His creation was good.
“Good” refers to moral excellence as well as high quality. God created everything, including man, with moral excellence.
- refer to vs. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, and 31
God separates the light from the darkness physically and spiritually.
These verses are also a metaphor for how God is the ultimate Judge, cannot exist where there is sin (darkness), and for us to be saved we must live in the light of Christ.
- ‘God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. ‘ Genesis 1:4
- ‘to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, ‘ Genesis 1:17-18
Giving names to creations shows that God is the ruler over those things.
In ancient Israel, naming things showed authority over them. As God created the heavens and the earth, He named them, including man. However, He gave ruling authority to man over the living creatures. (In Genesis 2, God tells man to name every living creature.)
God uses the plural “Us” in verse 26, possibly referring to the Holy Trinity.
‘Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” ‘ Genesis 1:26
God created man last because He had to prepare a place for us, just as He has done in heaven.
We are His crowning achievement. For all of God’s creations, He said it was “good”. When he created man, He said it was “very good”.
‘God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.‘ Genesis 1:31
Man is the only thing God created in His likeness and image.
God gave us the ability to reason, He gave us morals, and He gave us a relationship with Him.
‘So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. ‘ Genesis 1:27
God did not initially intend for man to eat meat.
God provided seed-bearing plants and fruit trees and instructed man that this was his food source. Meat wasn’t on the menu until either after the fall of man or after the floods.
‘God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This food will be for you, ‘ Genesis 1:29
KEEP READING
