The Message of Genesis

2001-01-08

Primitive History

Genesis demonstrates the origins of the world where the Israelites live. It is important to know that Genesis is part of a complete work, the Pentateuch. It is a prologue of Israelite history before Moses’ time to place the setting for the rest of the work. In the first portion of Genesis, the Holy Spirit, through Moses’ hand, shows first the creation of the physical universe and all that is within it. This shows the sovereign power God has and His ability to create the world out of nothing. He saw that the things in which He created were good, which demonstrates that He is good Himself. This introduction undermines the Israelites’ neighbors’ religion of worshipping the creation such as the sun and the moon. He created humankind and blessed them. He also sanctified the Sabbath as a sign of completion of the creation, which is good.

In the section beginning with the תוֹלְדוֹת (toledoth, or “generations”) of the heavens and the earth, the man that God created by dust was put in the Garden of Eden to tend it. Adam fellowshipped with God there, and ate freely from the tree of life. Institutions such as marriage were introduced and defined. His disobedience brought judgment and the ground was cursed because of his sin. The man was no longer in fellowship with God and did not enjoy His rest in the garden. Sin had entered into the world. With the cursing, however, God brought hope that a Savior would come to defeat the spiritual serpent that had deceived Eve. By faith, humankind can return to blessing.

When Cain murdered Abel, he was condemned to be a vagabond on the Earth; he had a mark placed on him so that no other man would harm him. God appointed a new seed to take the place of Abel. Often, when there is cursing, there is the hope of blessing to follow. In these first two sections, a message that is global to all of Scripture is the search for the Savior mentioned in Genesis 3:15. The toledoth of Adam pursues this search in the recurring statement ‘and he died,’ and finally Noah is born to bring the human race rest from the cursed ground.

The toledoth of Noah shows how he and his family are the only ones who find grace in the eyes of God. Because of the increasing evil in those days, God decided to start over by destroying all life by the Flood. God then ‘recreated’ the world by a remnant of animals on the ark and with Noah’s family. God makes a covenant with Noah and all of creation that He will not destroy the world by water ever again. God is a God of covenants. This is followed by a disgrace of Noah by his drunkenness and the response of Ham. This evokes a curse on Ham’s son Canaan. These are the ones that will be Israel’s chief enemy in the land of Canaan. This is another instance of the pattern of a curse following a blessing. A common theme throughout the Pentateuch is the exhibition of God’s grace and power followed by the sins of humankind. The blessing comes from God, but humankind in the tainted image of God brings curses on themselves. This also shows that Noah brought sin with him to the new world. Though he was the progenitor of all in the new creation, he himself will not be the Savior but a type thereof.

The toledoth of Shem, Ham, and Japheth shows the lineage of the nations surrounding the Israelites, and also the dividing of them. The pride of their descendents, a prototype of humanism, was judged so that they would not participate in their collective sin. This collaborative effort of the sons of Noah at Babel established Israel’s archetypal enemy Babylon, which appears in the form of many empires throughout history.

The Calling of Abraham

The following section, the toledoth of Shem, links the patriarch Abram in the family tree of the world. The change in concentration to the man Abram and his family explains where the choosing and blessing of Israel comes from. This also tells the reader that the Savior will come out of this line. Abram is chosen out of Ur, and he heeds His voice. He believes God, and is considered righteous. He is blessed with possessions, and is guaranteed an heir in his old age. Through him all nations will be blessed. God makes a covenant with Abraham, as he was renamed, and was promised many descendents and in Canaan. In his unbelief, he had a son with Hagar a maidservant, and the family of Ishmael was blessed with the birth of the 12 princely families (toledoth of Ishmael). Abraham believes God, and is declared righteous, and his faith leads him even to the point of sacrificing his son Isaac. Circumcision symbolizes God’s covenant and His corresponding promises to Abraham.

The chosen seed is Isaac, and in the toledoth of Isaac, he is given twin sons. Esau, the older of the two is foolish who married foreign wives and sold his birthright for stew. His foolishness does cost him the extensive blessing of Isaac, which was given to Jacob. Nonetheless, Esau is blessed by having many descendents who would become the nation of Edom. The chosen seed and lineage of the Savior is narrowed further to be through Isaac’s son Jacob. His blessing came through his use of deception, first and foremost to Isaac, and then Laban who had changed his wages often in the past. Jacob is blessed with great amounts of livestock in the household of Laban. The main blessing is that the nations will bow down to him.

The toledoth of Jacob brings the story of Joseph and also explains why the Jews were in Egypt waiting for deliverance and fulfillment of the promises to their ancestors. The faith and perseverance of Joseph leads to persecution, but ultimately leads to great blessing in his life. Joseph carefully planned the allotment of grain during the famine. The two blessings of Jacob prophetically show the future disposition of each tribe. There were blessings first to Joseph’s children, and then the twelve tribes. Though there is great blessing to Joseph and some of the others, the kingship and Messianic line is given to Judah.

Conclusion

The message behind the primitive history portion (Genesis 1-11) is the foundation of the world in which the Israelites dwell. The message behind the calling of Israel (Genesis 12-50) is how they were blessed through Abraham and his seed. The reiteration of the blessing throughout the patriarchal generations shows the Israelites that they are chosen to be God’s people. They are to walk with Him in faith as their ancestor Abraham did, though neither they nor their ancestor Abraham were perfect. The Savior theme sits behind the scene throughout all of Genesis, and each toledoth points toward One who will come and end the spiritual oppression. The search for the Savior opens the first passages in Genesis, but by the end there is the beginnings of the godly nation through which all nations will be blessed.