CreationCrisisCallingConversationChristChurchConsummation

Genesis 1-11• Creation Story #1 (1:1-2:3)• Creation Story #2 (2:4-2:25) • Adam and Eve’s Disobedience (3)• Cain and Abel (4)• Genealogy (5)• Fallen Angels (6:1-4)• Noah and the Flood (6:5-9:29)• Genealogy (10)• Tower of Babel (11:1-9)• Genealogy (11:10-32)

Which of these stories do you find most difficult to understand? Most objectionable?

Adam and Eve2:15-17 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’

– abundant blessing– purposeful mission (dominion = serve and protect)– loving prohibition

Adam and Eve2:18 “It is not good that the man be alone.”

We are created to be interdependent.

Genesis 3 and TemptationNow the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ 2The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.” ’

4But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.

7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. 8They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’

10He said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ 11He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ 12The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.’ 13Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent tricked me, and I ate.’ 14The Lord God said to the serpent,

‘Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures;upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.’

16To the woman he said,‘I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children,yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.’ 17And to the man he said,‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the treeabout which I commanded you, “You shall not eat of it”,

cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat breaduntil you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken;you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’

20The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all who live. 21And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them. 22Then the Lord God said, ‘See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever’—

23therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.

judgment

mercy

Genesis 4-11• Sin has a “snowball effect” and takes on

momentum.personal

relational

familial

global

Genesis 4 and Sibling RivalryNow the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, ‘I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.’ 2Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. 3In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,

5but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? 7If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.’

8 Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go out to the field.’ And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’ 10And the Lord said, ‘What have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! 11And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

12When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.’ 13Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.’

15Then the Lord said to him, ‘Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.’ And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him. 16Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

judgment

mercy

Genesis 5 and the “Begats”

• Ancient genealogies were not necessarily concerned with only physical descent and exhaustive accuracy.

• All of humankind is related. • What’s with living for hundreds of years?–The Kings List• 3 kings are said to have reigned for 72,000

years

Genesis 6 and Fallen AngelsWhen people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, 2the sons of God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. 3Then the Lord said, ‘My spirit shall not abide in mortals for ever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’ 4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterwards—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.

Genesis 6 and the Flood

6The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 6And the Lord was sorry [teshuva] that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

or

Similarities between Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh

• Flood occurs in the Mesopotamian plain.• Main character is warned to build a boat to

escape the flood.• Main character is told to save himself, his family,

and a sampling of animals.• The boats were sealed with tar.• The boats came to rest on a mountain.• Birds were released to determine if the waters

receded.• Main character sacrificed an offering.

Differences between Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh

• In Genesis, God sends a flood in a heartbroken response to human violence and evil.

• In Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods send a flood because they are annoyed that the human beings are too noisy.

Genesis 912God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

Divine Violence?

• God is depicted as a warrior hanging up his bow.

• God is depicted as learning that violence isn’t a good response of violence.–After all, it solves nothing. The first thing

Noah does after getting off the boat is get drunk and things start going downhill from there.

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mercy

Genesis 11 and Tower of Babel

• Instead of “filling the earth,” they stay in one place and build a tower into the heavens.

• God scatters them and confuses their language

judgment

mercy?

Genesis 12-Revelation 22 is God’s response to the downward spiral of sinful rebellion articulated in Genesis 1-11.

God could have written “The End” several times.But the story keeps going.

“Where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more.” (Romans 5:20)

“tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”

Next week:

Blessing the World and the Call of Abraham Genesis 12:1-9

Liberating the Slaves and the Call of Moses Exodus 1-14

Taking the Land and the Call of Joshua Deuteronomy 7:1-6; Joshua 1:1-5