There is no book in the
world like the Book of Genesis. Moses, guided by the Spirit of God, was the man
whom God chose to be its author. Because the book closes about three hundred
years before Moses lived, he could have gotten his information only by the
direct revelation of God.
Some people wonder how Moses
could have known what happened before any man appeared on the earth. The answer
is simple: God merely revealed to Moses the ancient past in the same way He
revealed to His Prophets the far‑distant future. It would be no more
difficult for God to tell a person what had happened than it would be to tell
someone what was going to happen.
What will you discover when
you read the book? Many exciting and wonderful things. You'll find the story of
the creation of the world and all that it contains. You'll read of the first
human beings, of the beautiful garden that was their home, and how they lost it
all; how they fell into sin being tempted by the devil. You'll read about the
great flood of Noah's time and of the building of the Ark. You'll read of the
building of the tower of Babel and of the confusion of tongues.
From the twelfth chapter to
the end of the book is primarily the story of four men ‑ Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob and Joseph. In other words, the book of Genesis treats the history of the
kingdom of God from the time of the creation of the world down to the beginning
of Israel's time in Egypt and to the death of Joseph.
The first prophecy
concerning the coming of Jesus Christ appears in the book of Genesis. Genesis
3:15 says: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between
thy seed and her seed; he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his
heel." It is interesting to note that the first mention of Jesus is in
connection with His conflict with the devil and the assurance of victory for
the promised redeemer.
One man's sin brought
eternal death to the entire human race. One man's death brought eternal life.
"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the
obedience of one shall many be made righteous." (Romans 5:19) "For as
in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (I
Corinthians 15:22)
In some respects, this is
the most remarkable book of the Bible. It begins with the greatest announcement
of all time ‑ the fact of the eternal existence and creative power of
God. The Bible begins with the truth of God; that God is, that there is one
God, and that He is the creator of the universe.
Two things are clear: that
the design of the Bible is to reveal the Divine plan of redemption in Jesus
Christ, and that to understand the Bible requires a knowledge of the Book of
Genesis. We must begin where God begins if we are to understand the marvelous
unfolding of God's redemption in Christ, which is the central fact of the
Bible.
© Copyright 2002, LeRoy Eims