Bible Survey: Part OneSample

This year we are going to be reading chapters out of the Bible that will hopefully give us an overview of the story of the Bible. Along the way, I hope to provide some comments that will help with understanding or filling in the gaps for the chapters we will not be reading.

The author of Genesis is not given, but for those that believe the Bible to be God’s Word, it is generally thought that it was written down by Moses around 1400BC, based on various written and verbal sources and the guidance of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). Moses was the leader of the Nation of Israel when the people were being released after 400 years of slavery. The people needed to be introduced to God and how to relate to Him. In ancient times people learned through example stories, not through explicit teaching. As with anyone, we learn more of someone’s character by watching their behavior.

Today we read about creation. Often this chapter is a source of controversy. Did God create everything in six literal days? How was there light before the sun existed? It’s important to realize that the Bible was written to tell people about God. It isn’t a science or history textbook. So regardless of your view of the literal nature of this chapter, it’s important to see what we are being taught about God. For sure, He was the One who brought it about so the Israelites shouldn’t believe all those stories about Egyptian gods and we shouldn’t believe the theories of things coming into existence all by themselves. Paul said in Romans 1:20, “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” We also see that God created humanity to be of special value within His creation; only humanity is in His image and is given responsibility to rule over creation.

Ideas that come to mind about God from the creation story are: powerful, orderly, creative, seeking satisfaction, provision, and wanting His creation to succeed. Perhaps you see some others.