How to Read Genesis
Genesis is one of the most enjoyable Old Testament books, full of
memorable stories of people and events. It is a crucial book to know,
for the rest of the bible often refers back to it.
Genesis tells the story of many beginnings-the beginning of the universe, the beginning of sin, and perhaps most important, the beginning of God’s work to restore a sinful humanity.
The book breaks into two major sections. The first 11 chapters take a big view. They give the origin of human society, including the familiar story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah’s ark, and the tower of Babel. Here, a few words carry great significance. You need to read slowly and reflectively, for what happens in a single line may echo off events for centuries to come. For instance, Adam and Eve’s sin, because it was the first sin, became an emblem of disobedience against God.
Beginning at chapter 12, Genesis tells a different kind of story-that of a single family. The pace of the story slows to develop the personalities of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. This fathers and sons are full of human faults and oddities. Do you recognize any of their traits in people you know?
Seeing their fully human personalities, try to understand what God’s plans were for them as individuals-and through them, for the restoration of a whole world marred by sin.
People You’ll Meet in Genesis
Genesis tells the story of many beginnings-the beginning of the universe, the beginning of sin, and perhaps most important, the beginning of God’s work to restore a sinful humanity.
The book breaks into two major sections. The first 11 chapters take a big view. They give the origin of human society, including the familiar story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah’s ark, and the tower of Babel. Here, a few words carry great significance. You need to read slowly and reflectively, for what happens in a single line may echo off events for centuries to come. For instance, Adam and Eve’s sin, because it was the first sin, became an emblem of disobedience against God.
Beginning at chapter 12, Genesis tells a different kind of story-that of a single family. The pace of the story slows to develop the personalities of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. This fathers and sons are full of human faults and oddities. Do you recognize any of their traits in people you know?
Seeing their fully human personalities, try to understand what God’s plans were for them as individuals-and through them, for the restoration of a whole world marred by sin.
People You’ll Meet in Genesis
- Adam and Eve
- Cain and Abel
- Noah
- Abraham
- Lot
- Ishmael
- Sarah
- Isaac
- Rebekah
- Jacob
- Laban
- Rachel
- Esau
- Joseph
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