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BibleProject - Old Testament - Lesson 2

Genesis (Part 1) - BibleProject

Genesis is the first book of the Bible and is often studied to gain a deeper understanding of the Old Testament. The book is divided into two main parts: the first part tells the story of creation and the patriarchs, while the second part focuses on the history of Israel. The literary features of Genesis include its structure, style, and genre. The creation story is a key part of the book, with an overview of each day's events and the Sabbath rest. The key themes and characters in Genesis include Abraham and the patriarchs, the fall and sin, the flood and Noah, and God's covenant with Israel. The significance of Genesis in the Bible is that it introduces readers to the Old Testament and sets the stage for the Pentateuch and Books of Moses. Additionally, many themes and motifs that continue throughout the Bible are introduced in Genesis.
 

Taught by a Team
Taught by a Team
BibleProject - Old Testament
Lesson 2
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Genesis (Part 1) - BibleProject

Genesis: Understanding the First Book of the Bible

I. Introduction

A. Importance of Genesis

B. Overview of Genesis

II. Literary Features of Genesis

A. Genre and Structure

B. Language and Style

III. The Creation Story

A. Overview of Creation Story

B. Creation Days One to Three

C. Creation Days Four to Six

D. The Seventh Day and Sabbath Rest

IV. Key Themes and Characters in Genesis

A. Abraham and the Patriarchs

B. The Fall and Sin

C. The Flood and Noah

D. God's Covenant with Israel

V. The Significance of Genesis in the Bible

A. Introduction to the Old Testament

B. The Pentateuch and Books of Moses

C. Themes and Motifs that Continue throughout the Bible


Lessons
Resources
Transcript
  • By watching this video, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the Old Testament, including its literary design and flow of thought. You will learn about the different sections of the Old Testament, including the Pentateuch, Historical Books, Wisdom Literature, Major Prophets, and Minor Prophets. You will also gain insights into the stories, themes, and messages of each of these sections and how they contribute to the overall narrative of God's relationship with humanity.
  • By studying Genesis, you will gain a deeper understanding of the Old Testament and its key themes and characters, as well as the literary features of the book, such as its structure, style, and genre. The creation story is a key part of the book, as are the stories of Abraham and the patriarchs, the fall and sin, the flood and Noah, and God's covenant with Israel. Additionally, Genesis introduces readers to the Old Testament and sets the stage for the Pentateuch and Books of Moses, while also introducing many themes and motifs that continue throughout the Bible.
  • Discover the captivating stories of the patriarchs in Genesis Part 2, exploring themes of covenant, God's sovereignty, human responsibility, faith, and obedience.
  • Explore the Bible's book of Exodus to gain insight into God's rescue of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, the significance of the covenant and law, and its connection to the New Testament.
  • Gain insight into the book of Exodus and its themes of salvation and redemption, revealing God's character through his interactions with Israel, with significant influence on Jewish and Christian traditions and connections to the New Testament through its foreshadowing of Jesus Christ.
  • By studying Leviticus with The Bible Project, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the historical and literary context, themes, and structure of this important book in the Old Testament. You will also learn about the significance of Leviticus for understanding the Torah and its relevance for Christians today.
  • By studying The Bible Project's lesson on Numbers, you'll comprehensively understand its structure, themes, and significance, gaining insight into the journey of the Israelites in the wilderness, God's guidance, rebellion, priesthood, and offerings, as well as its historical, theological, and contemporary relevance.
  • Explore Numbers' authorship, context, structure, and theology to gain a comprehensive understanding of its significance to the Pentateuch and the Old Testament, as well as its relevance to the Christian faith today.
  • You will gain knowledge and insight into the book of Joshua, including its historical context, literary genre, and summary. You will learn about the book's themes, such as God's faithfulness, obedience, and judgment, and its significance in foreshadowing Christ's work and providing historical and theological implications.
  • Explore the historical and cultural context, literary design, and theological significance of the book of Judges in the Old Testament, and learn how it fits into the broader biblical storyline, including its relevance for today.
  • Explore the Book of Ruth to understand its historical context, literary features, themes of loyalty and faithfulness, redemption, the kinsman-redeemer's role, and its Old Testament significance.
  • Studying the Book of Samuel provides insight into the rise of the Israelite monarchy, the lives of Saul and David, and the importance of obedience to God, covering themes of leadership and kingship with the presence of the Ark of the Covenant.
  • By exploring the story of Absalom in 2 Samuel and the broader context of the Old Testament Historical Books, you will gain insight into the themes and messages of these books, as well as their historical and modern-day significance.
  • Through the study of 1 Kings and 2 Kings, you will gain a deeper understanding of the history of Israel and Judah, as well as valuable spiritual lessons from these Old Testament books.
  • By studying this lesson, you understand the historical and literary aspects of 1 and 2 Chronicles, emphasizing God's sovereignty, covenant faithfulness, worship, and obedience.
  • Through this lesson, you grasp the historical context, key themes, and modern applications of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, enriching your understanding of faith, community, and commitment to God's Word.
  • You will gain an understanding of the book of Esther, a narrative in the Hebrew Bible that tells the story of a Jewish woman named Esther who becomes queen in the Persian court and, with the help of her cousin Mordecai, saves the Jews from genocide orchestrated by the villain Haman. The story highlights God's sovereignty and providential care, and the feast of Purim celebrates the Jews' victory.
  • By studying the Book of Job, you will explore the complexities of human suffering, the search for divine wisdom, and the tension between God's sovereignty and human limitations within a unique literary structure.
  • You will gain a comprehensive understanding of the book of Psalms, including its background, structure, authorship, and theology. You will also learn about the various themes and motifs present in the Psalms, which will help you better understand and appreciate this important book in the Old Testament.
  • By studying Proverbs, you will understand the definition and purpose of wisdom, the fear of the Lord, and the personification of wisdom in the book. You will also gain insights into the literary structure of Proverbs and the themes of the book, including the importance of listening to wisdom, the power of words, and the value of hard work.
  • In the Ecclesiastes lesson, you gain insights into the book's structure, themes, and significance, while exploring the search for meaning, vanity, and the importance of fearing God and enjoying life.
  • You will gain an understanding of the literary features, interpretation, theology, and application of the book Song of Songs, including its authorship, historical and cultural context, allegorical and literal interpretation, and its teachings on God and human love, sexuality, and relationships.
  • Through this lesson, you gain insight into Isaiah's historical context, literary features, major themes, and its significance in the Old Testament.
  • Discover how Isaiah's prophetic message of judgment and hope for Jerusalem evolves, as it predicts the fall of Israel's kingdom and envisions a new, purified Jerusalem where God's kingdom will be restored through a future messianic king, uniting all nations in peace.
  • Through this lesson, you will gain understanding of the book of Jeremiah, including its historical and cultural context, literary features, major themes and message, and significance in the Old Testament.
  • In this lesson, you learn about the Book of Lamentations, its structure, themes, and the role of God in the midst of suffering and divine judgment, while ultimately highlighting His faithfulness and mercy.
  • In the book of Ezekiel, you follow the story of a priest named Ezekiel who has a vision of God's glory riding on a royal throne chariot, and is commissioned by God to accuse Israel of rebellion and warn them of their impending destruction due to their covenant violations and rampant social injustice, while also providing a small glimmer of hope for the future.
  • By viewing this lesson on Daniel, you will gain understanding of its structure, themes, and significance in the Old Testament, gaining knowledge about living as faithful exiles in a hostile culture, God's sovereignty and faithfulness in times of trial, and remaining faithful to God even in difficult circumstances.
  • Through this lesson, you grasp the complexities of Hosea, discovering the book's themes, messages, and its role in the Old Testament, emphasizing the relationship between Israel's unfaithfulness and God's unwavering love.
  • By studying the book of Joel, you will gain insight into the historical and cultural context of Judah, the literary features of prophetic literature, and the themes of repentance, restoration, and the Day of the Lord. Joel's prophecy also has significance in the New Testament as it is quoted by Peter at Pentecost, emphasizing the fulfillment of Joel's vision through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
  • In the Amos lesson, you explore its historical context, literary features, and themes, enhancing your understanding of justice, the Day of the Lord, and God's sovereignty within the Old Testament.
  • By studying Obadiah, you will gain insight into the historical context and literary features of this prophetic oracle. You will learn about the pride of Edom, their judgment, and the hope for Israel. Through understanding the significance of Obadiah in the Old Testament, you will have a deeper appreciation for the themes and message of this book.
  • Through this lesson, you gain insight into Jonah's themes, including God's mercy, human rebellion, repentance, and the significance of mission, while also understanding its connections to other biblical narratives.
  • Studying the book of Micah will give you an understanding of its historical context, literary genre, prophetic message of judgment and restoration, and insights into God's character and how He interacts with His people.
  • In this lesson, you gain insight into the historical context, structure, and themes of the book of Nahum, learning about God's sovereignty, justice, and the relevance of these concepts in today's world.
  • Studying Habakkuk will deepen your understanding of how to wrestle with difficult questions about God's character and the problem of evil and respond with faith and trust in God's sovereignty.
  • In this lesson, you explore the book of Zephaniah, gaining insights into its background, context, literary features, themes, and significance in the Old Testament, including the central message of the Day of the Lord and the promise of future hope.
  • You will gain an in-depth understanding of the Book of Haggai, including its historical and cultural context, literary structure, purpose and themes, individual sections, and theological significance in relation to the Exile, Restoration, and Messiah.
  • In this lesson, you gain insights into Zechariah's historical context, structure, themes of restoration, the coming Messiah, God's sovereignty, and its significance in the Old Testament.
  • Discover the last book of the Old Testament and its themes, such as God's love for Israel, the importance of worship, and the coming of the messenger and the day of the Lord, as well as its connection to the New Testament, which prophesies the coming of John the Baptist and Jesus and calls for a return to God.

BP100-02 Genesis (Part 1)

The book of Genesis is the first book of the Bible and it's storyline divides into two main parts There's chapters 1-11, which tell the story of God and the whole world, and then there's chapters 12-50 which zoom in and tell the story of God and just one man, Abraham, and then his family. And these two parts are connected by a hinge story at the beginning of chapter 12. And this design, it gives us a clue as to how to understand the message of the book as a whole and how it introduces the story of the whole Bible. So the book begins with God taking the disorder and the darkness described in the second sentence of the Bible and God brings out of it order and beauty and goodness and he makes out of it a world where life can flourish. And God makes these creatures called humans or "adam," in Hebrew. He makes them in his image, which has to do with their role and purpose in God's world. So humans are made to be reflections of God's character out into the world. And they're appointed as God's representatives to rule his world on his behalf, which in context means to harness all its potential, to care for it, and make it where even more life can flourish. God blesses the humans. It's a key word in this book. And he gives them a garden, a place from which they begin starting to build this new world. Now the key is that the humans have a choice about how they're going to go about building this world and that's represented by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Up till now, God has provided and defined what is good and what is not good. But now God is giving humans the dignity and the freedom of a choice: Are they going to trust God's definition of good and evil or are they going to seize autonomy and define good and evil for themselves? And the stakes are really high. To rebel against God is to embrace death because you're turning away from the giver of life himself. This is represented by the Tree of Life. And so in chapter 3, a mysterious figure, a snake, enters into the story. The snake's given no introduction other than it's a creature that God made. And it becomes clear that it's a creature in rebellion against God and it wants to lead the humans into rebellion and their death. The snake tells a different story about the tree and the choice. It says that seizing the knowledge of good and evil are not going to bring death and that it's actually the way to life and becoming like God themselves. Now the irony of this is tragic because we know the humans are already like God--they were made to reflect God's image. But instead of trusting God, the humans seize autonomy, they take the knowledge of good and evil for themselves, and in an instant the whole story spirals out of control. The first casualty is human relationships. The man and the woman they suddenly realize how vulnerable they are. Now they can't even trust each other. And so they make clothes and they hide their bodies from one another. The second casualty is that intimacy between God and humans is lost. So they go, run, and hide from God. And then when God finds them, they start this game of blame-shifting about who rebelled first. Now right here this story stops and there's a series of short poems where God declares to the snake, and then to the humans, the tragic consequences of their actions. God first tells the snake that despite it's apparent victory, it is destined for defeat, to eat dust. God promises that one day a seed, or a descendant, will come from the woman, who's going to deliver a lethal strike to the snakes head. Which sounds like great news, but this victory is going to come with a cost because the snake, too, will deliver a lethal strike to the descendant's heal as it's being crushed. It's a very mysterious promise of this wounded victor. But in the flow of the story so far, you see that this is an act of God's grace. The humans, they've just rebelled. And what does God do? He promises to rescue them. But this doesn't erase the consequences of the humans' decision. So God informs them that now every aspect of their life together--at home, in the field--it's going to be fraught with grief and pain because of the rebellion, all leading to their death. From here, the story then spirals downward. Chapters 3-11, they trace the widening ripple effect of the rebellion and of human relationships fracturing at every level. So there's the story of two brothers, Cain and Abel. Cain is so jealous of his brother that he wants to murder him. And God warns him not to give in to the temptation but he does anyway. He murders him in the field. So Cain then goes on to build a city where violence and oppression reign. And this is all epitomized in this story of Lamech. He's the first man in the Bible to have more than one wife. He's accumulating them like property. And then he goes on to sing a short song about how he's more violent and vengeful than Cain ever was. After this we get an odd story about the "sons of God, " which could refer to evil, angelic beings, or it could refer to ancient kings who claimed that they descended from the gods. And like Lamech, they acquired as many wives as they wanted and they produced the Nephilim, these great warriors of old. Whichever view is right, the point is that humans are building kingdoms that fill God's world with violence and even more corruption. In response, we are told that God is broken with grief, humanity is ruining his good world and they're ruining each other. And so out of a passion to protect the goodness of his world, he washes it clean of humanity's evil with a great flood. But he protects one blameless human--Noah, and his family. And he commissions him as a new Adam. He repeats the divine blessing and commissions him to go out into the world. And so our hopes are really high but then Noah fails too. and also in a garden. He goes and he plants a vineyard and he gets drunk out of his mind. And then one of his sons, Ham, does something shameful to his father in the tent. And so, here we have our new "adam," naked and ashamed, just like the first. And the downward spiral begins again. It all leads to the foundation of the city of Babylon. The people of ancient Mesopotamia, they come together around this new technology they have--the brick. And they can make cities and towers bigger and faster than anybody's ever done before. And they want to build a new kind of tower that will reach up to the gods and they will make a great name for themselves. It's an image of human rebellion and arrogance. It's the garden rebellion now writ large. And so God humbles their pride and scatters them. Now this is a diverse group of stories but you can see they're all exploring the same basic point: God keeps giving humans the chance to do the right thing with his world and humans keep ruining it. These stories are making a claim that we live in a good world that we have turned bad-- that we've all chosen to define good and evil for ourselves and so we all contribute to this world of broken relationships, leading to conflict, and violence, and ultimately death. But there's hope. God promised that one day a descendant would come-- the wounded victor who will defeat evil at its source. And so despite humanity's evil, God is determined to bless and rescue his world. And so the big question is, of course, "What is God going to do?" And the next story, the hinge, offers the answer. But for now, that's what Genesis 1-11 is all about.