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We should read the Bible to learn God’s
plan for our lives—to see God’s agenda, not our own. The book of
Genesis gives us an in-depth view of God as a real Being who works in
people’s lives to effect His good will for them.
Throughout the Genesis stories, we see
four things repeated as God works with His people: (1) Blessing; (2)
Knowledge of God; (3) Community/fellowship; (4) Rest. These four
elements in the stories show us God’s character. Look for them as you
study.
The following chart illustrates these
themes found in the book of Genesis. The left column, except for
the first entry, is man's perversion of God's way. The right
column shows God's will working in the lives of His people after they
finally believed Him. Faith in God's word brought reconciliation
to every aspect of their lives.
| God's
Will Perverted |
God's
Will Fulfilled |
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Chapters 1 and 2 give us
God’s plan for this world—His perfect, blessed creation.
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Abraham received the Blessing of
God (Genesis
12:2, 3).
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| Chapter
3: Man’s plan implemented as Adam rejects the vertical aspect of
worship, turning to self-worship, and the results which occur when
God’s plan is rejected by Adam and Eve (rejection of God’s way
to knowledge). |
Chapters
12- 24: Abraham, after many attempts to do things his own way and
seeing the results, learns to do things God’s way = man
reconciled to God’s will, and deciding to "do things"
God’s way, receives knowledge of who God is. |
| Chapter
4: Man’s relationship to his brother, and the results when God’s
plan is rejected by Cain. |
Chapters
25-33: The brothers’ relationship repeated and expanded; finally
Jacob could say "I have seen God’s face, and now am no
longer afraid of your face"
(33:10) = reconciliation between
brothers. |
| Chapters
6-9: Reveals man in a society/ community relationship which turns
bad and results in the world-wide flood. |
Chapters
37-45:
Joseph and his family/ brothers (community/society) repeated and
expanded = reconciliation of the family unit. |
| Chapter
11: The tower of Babel is man’s attempt to recreate the vertical
aspect of worship but on his own terms, and to give themselves a
great name (vs. 4) and to be a great nation; again dire results
come from not following God’s plan. |
Chapter
12: Fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham – great name,
great nation (Romans
4:13-25) in contrast to man’s attempts to
save himself = rest in the finished salvation of God and
reconciliation with God through Christ (Romans 3:24,
25; 2
Corinthians 5:19). |
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