Read the Bible in a Year - Genesis Study

Hi Ladies,

I'm so excited to kick of 2024 by reading the Bible together daily! As promised, I wrote this post to help facilitate our Old Testament readings in Genesis for the first three weeks of January. Below, you will find a brief summary of Genesis which will provide some background and historical information that will aid in your studies of the text. I also included a section on interesting topics found in Genesis that will, hopefully, pique your interest in how fascinating the Bible is! So, go grab a warm, wintery drink (my favorite is a steaming hot mocha latte) and enjoy this post. Happy reading, sweet friends!

Brief Synopsis of Genesis…

"Genesis is truly the “beginning,” the “root,” and the “seedbed” of all subsequent Scriptures - including of the Gospel and the revelation of the New Testament.” -John Parsons, Hebrew4Christians

In order to understand the New Covenant established in Christ, we must, first, understand the “metanarrative” that begins in Genesis. It is a story of redemption and restoration beginning in the Garden and finding its full expression at the cross.

In Genesis 3:15, God gives a promise of deliverance through the coming Seed of the woman.

Scripture begins with the foundational truth (found in Genesis) that the Almighty God is our Creator. Over the six days of creation, He brings forth life - expressed in the creation of light and darkness/day and night, the separation of the earth’s atmosphere, the dry land (along with its vegetation and seed-bearing trees), the sea, the celestial lights, the fish of the sea & birds of the air, and all other living creatures found on the earth.

Finally, with climatic completion, mankind is formed and fashioned in the image of God Himself. Then, He rests on the seventh day of creation.

As Genesis continues, the fall of creation is revealed and Adam, along with Eve, are exiled from the Garden of Eden. Paradise is lost. However, God’s redemptive plan is just beginning.

After the story of creation is explained, Genesis takes us through the universal history of ancient mankind. The descendants of Adam are listed in generational lineages and the sins of the pre-flood world are explained. We are, then, introduced to Noah and his family as they are delivered out of God’s judgment upon wicked humanity and fallen creation through a global flood that kills every living being on the face of the planet. After the floodwaters subside, Noah and his family are commanded by God to be fruitful, multiply and, once again, fill the earth. The historical record then moves through the building of Babel/Babylon, the dispersion of the nations, and the lineages of Noah through his sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. According to my understanding, Shem’s descendants are the forerunners of Israel and other Semitic nations, Ham’s descendants are the forerunners of Arab and African nations, and Japheth’s descendants are the forerunners of Europe, as well as Asia Minor, and parts of India & China.

The lens of focus then narrows down to Abraham and the covenant the LORD makes specifically with him and his descendants. The remainder of Genesis describes the lives of the Jewish patriarchs, ending with Joseph’s death in Egypt.

Interesting Topics from Genesis...

The personal signature of Jesus appears in Genesis 1:1

“In the beginning God created - the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

The hyphen appearing in the verse above is the Hebrew word, et, which is an untranslated word. This is what it looks like in Hebrew: אֶת (et). This mysterious word is made up of two Hebrew letters: the Aleph (אֶ) and the Tav (ת); the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The English equivalent would be A and Z. So, imagine reading a sentence and (AZ) appear next to one another. For example, the cat likes AZ the ball of yarn. It doesn’t make much sense on the surface, but, biblically-speaking, there’s a great mystery hidden within these two Hebrew letters. That mystery is revealed to us by Jesus Himself in Revelation 1:8. He declares,

“I am the Aleph and the Tav (Alpha and Omega in Greek) - the beginning and the end…I am the One who is, who always was, and who is to come - the Almighty One.”

So, here in the Book of Revelation, Jesus reveals Himself as the Aleph-Tav. It is His personal Signature throughout Scripture (Old & New Testament) appearing 10,595 times. The first time it appears is in Genesis 1:1 when creation is beginning to unfold. His Signature appears exactly where God, the Creator, is referred to as “Elohim et” (Elohim is the Hebrew word for God; et represents Aleph-Tav). This is alluded to by Paul in the Book of Colossians when he writes,

“For everything was created by Him,

in heaven and on the earth,

the visible and the invisible,

whether thrones or dominions,

or rulers or authorities -

all things have been created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:16-17)

The “Him” Paul is referring to here is Jesus Christ, the Aleph-Tav, as seen in Genesis 1:1. The ancient pictographs used for these letters were the head of a bull (Aleph) and the sign of a cross (Tav). These two characters are very powerful symbols of the atoning work of Christ as our Sacrificial Offering (the Lamb of God) who died for mankind on the cross. It is a very poignant reminder of His love for us each time His personal signature appears in Scripture. It also appears in Scripture alongside certain promises of the LORD, as if Jesus is guaranteeing His Word by the authority of His name (see Exodus 23:25 for an example)!

**Keep an eye out for the appearing of His Signature as you read the Bible this year! The easiest way to spot it is by using an Interlinear Bible which is keyed to the Hebrew and Greek text using Strong’s Concordance. I use Bible Hub’s free Interlinear which you can access here.

The Trinity appears at creation

The doctrine of the Trinity: the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit can be a controversial topic among certain theological circles. However, the Trinity makes its first appearance in Genesis 1!

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule (have authority) over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth. So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.” (Genesis 1:26-27)

I find it interesting that the beginning of verse 26 discusses God in the plural sense: us and our, but then in verse 27 switches to “He.” My conclusion for this would be that “all things (including creation) have been created by Christ" (Colossians 1:16). Therefore, in the account of creation, the Person of the Trinity doing the "creating" would have been the Son, the second Person of the Trinity, hence the pronoun designation of "He."

So, the Godhead is One (Echad; Hebrew word for “one” or “united parts”), yet, distinctly three.

As previously mentioned, it contains the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are one, but three distinct individuals. Maybe the example of covenantal marriage can lend to our understanding of the Trinity? The Lord declared in Genesis 2 that when a man and woman become married, they are no longer two, but one flesh. However, after the wedding ceremony has ended, they are still two distinct people, but, yet, in spirit, they are one.

The Trinity shares the same divine, all-knowing, eternal nature, yet each have differing roles.

The Father is the Source of all things. He is the ultimate Judge and Authority. The Son has been given all authority from the Father. He carried out the plan of redemption and offers salvation to all who call upon His name. He is identified as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God who indwells born-again believers. He is called the Comforter, the Advocate, the Counselor, the Spirit of Truth, etc. He gives believers the power to live by the Spirit and produce fruit unto salvation.

“Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one (echad).” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

Lamb’s blood is anti-venom for snake bites

A theme that reappears throughout the Bible is that of the serpent. He makes his first appearance in the Garden of Eden and appears throughout Scripture even up until, Revelation. It reads,

“And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years…” (Revelation 20:2).

In Genesis, we see how two spiritual bloodlines were established: one of the children of God and one of the offspring of the serpent - sons of Satan - who Jesus refers to as “Brood of Vipers” (a.k.a. serpents). Serpents are mentioned around 50 times in the Bible and usually always represent evil.

Something that I learned recently and found fascinating was that the blood of lambs is anti-venom for snake bites! When scientists first began developing snake anti-venom they originally used blood from horses due to their size and ample blood reserves. However, over years of study and research, scientists have since discovered that the blood of lambs is a much more powerful anti-venom against poisonous bites.

The Lamb’s blood is the anti-venom for the fatal bite of the serpent!

In the same way, the blood of the Lamb is the antidote for the poisonous bite of sin and death.

This truth is seen throughout the Old Testament: in the daily sin offerings in the Tabernacle and, later, Temple, during Passover when the blood of the Passover lamb was applied to the doorposts of one’s home to keep the Destroyer from killing the firstborn son, and so on. These were all prophetic shadow pictures of the future redemptive work of Christ - when He fulfilled Passover as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world at the cross of Calvary…

We also can see it in Numbers 21:5-9.

The Israelites were, once again, murmuring against Moses, and the LORD. They were bitterly complaining about their lack of bread, water, and their hatred of the God-sent manna. They even went so far as to accuse God and Moses of leading them out of Egypt to kill them in the wilderness.

“Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died. The people then came to Moses and said, 'We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.' And Moses interceded for the people.”

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.' So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.”

i.e. he who was bitten was healed…

Jesus refers to Numbers 21 in John 3:14-15…

“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”

Clearly, Jesus, the Son of Man, is the anti-venom to the serpent bite. He offers eternal life to those who “look to Him.”

So, you might be wondering, why was the image on the pole that they were commanded to look at a bronze snake (serpent) and not a lamb (to represent Jesus on the cross)?

I think it is because Jesus became sin for us. He who knew no sin became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Yes, He is the sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is a Sacrificial Offering to the Father; a Substitutionary Offering on behalf of every believer. But in order to become that offering for us, He had to become the “guilty” party. The Scriptures say that the Father “made Him to be sin on our behalf." Oh how great His love is for us! Therefore, we can cry out like Paul,

“Oh death where is your sting?…The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the Law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

The blood of the Lamb is anti-venom! Hallelujah!

I hope this post has been insightful and enjoyable to read. I will be making a similar one for the Book of Matthew, so stay tuned for that! You can also subscribe to my newsletters and become a member of our Flourishing Grace community by filling out the form in the side bar! Til' next time, keep flourishing my friends!

Warmly,

Kate