Introduction: We have been looking at Genesis in the last few
lessons, but this week we will go deeper into the Creation and the
conclusions that flow from it. Interpreting Genesis as a historical
account, as opposed to an analogy, or worse a myth, is essential to a
proper interpretation of the Bible. Let’s dig into this topic through
our Bible study this week!
- The Beginning
- Read Genesis 1:1. What important information do you find
here? (That the earth and the heavens had a beginning.
They were created as a act of God.) - Read John 1:1. Who was with God in this event? (Read John
1:14. This explains that Jesus is the “Word” and that
Jesus was with and is God. This, of course, is a powerful
argument for our understanding of the Trinity.) - Read John 1:2-3. What further explanation does this give
us about the Creation? (That God (Jesus) “made” “all
things.”) - Read Psalms 19:1-2. What does this say about proving what
the Bible says? (It tells us that the “heavens declare”
and “the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”) - Is this true? Does an understanding of astronomy and
astrophysics confirm what Genesis 1 and John 1
recount? (Yes! Astronomers noticed that stars are
“red shifted.” We all understand that movement
affects sound waves. If you stand by a railroad track
the sound changes as the train approaches and then
leaves you. The sound waves are “bunched” in the
approach and “extended” in moving away. The same is
true for light waves. By observing light waves
scientists were able to tell that the universe was
slowly expanding in all directions. That meant the
universe had a common origin, a beginning, that you
could calculate.) - If both science and the Bible tell us that the heavens and
the earth had a beginning, should we accept that fact? - Creation Days
- Read Genesis 1:3-5. How long was this day according to the
way Moses (inspired by the Holy Spirit) describes it?
(Humans understand “evening and morning” to describe a 24-hour period of time.) - Does this description sound like an analogy? (This is
very specific. The reasonable conclusion is that we
are talking about a literal day.) - Read Genesis 1:14. This is later in the Creation. What is
the purpose of these “lights in the vault of the sky?” (To
“mark sacred times.” They are set as timekeepers.) - What does that suggest about the earlier “evening and
morning?” (It causes a little uncertainty in my mind.
On the one hand, the timekeeping came later. On the
other hand, the earlier description seems to
anticipate the creation of the timekeepers.) - Read Genesis 2:4 in the KJV or the ESV. The original
Hebrew uses the word “yom” which both the KJV and ESV
translate as “day.” The NIV translation blurs this by
translating it “when.” This is the same Hebrew word
consistently used in the first two chapters of Genesis to
mean “day.” How long is the “day” (yom) here? (Here it
means at least six days. Genesis chapters 1 & 2 contain
the entire creation account. If you take the Bible
literally, and you see that “yom” (“day”) is used to mean
something other than a literal 24-hours, what does that
suggest about the proper understanding of “yom?” (It means
it might not be limited to 24-hours.) - Is there any good reason to even consider “long days”
in Creation? (If the reason is to accommodate the
evolutionary theory, the answer is “No,” because that
theory is directly at odds with the Creation account.
But, if the reason is to align God’s revelation in
the Bible with God’s revelation in nature, then this
seems a legitimate reason to consider the idea.) - Scan Genesis chapter 1. Are all of the six days defined as
“evening and morning?” (Yes.) - What does this suggest to us? (It suggests that they
are literal 24-hour days. I think the better argument
is that the Creation days are literal 24-hours. But,
I’m not dogmatic about this because there is a
reasonable argument based on a literal reading of
Genesis that “yom” can mean more than 24-hours.) - The Sabbath
- Let’s ask the question that is likely truly troubling the
reader. What if all the Creation days are not a literal
24-hours, how does this impact the Sabbath (see, Genesis
2:1-3)? (I don’t think it undercuts Sabbath observance at
all. The Sabbath still memorializes Creation. Exodus 20
still instructs that this observance be on a literal
“seventh day.”) - Read Revelation 14:6-7. How central is the Creation
account to the gospel? (This text reports that an angel is
preaching the “everlasting gospel” to humans. The
beginning of that gospel is to worship our Creator God.) - Read Mark 2:27-28. If man was made for the Sabbath, what
kinds of rules for Sabbath observance would be
appropriate? - If the Sabbath was made for humans, considering the
Genesis background, what kind of approach to Sabbath
observance would be appropriate? - Read Isaiah 58:13-14. How can we call the Sabbath a
“delight” when we cannot do what is a pleasure? - Does Isaiah need to have a conference with Jesus to
iron out what it means for the Sabbath to be made for
humans? (Notice that Isaiah refers to the Sabbath as
a “holy day.” I think that helps us understand. We
can delight in things that are consistent with a day
set apart to celebrate God as our Creator.) - Is the answer that I just suggested consistent
with Jesus’ remark that the Sabbath was made
for humans? - Marriage
- Read Genesis 2:22-25. What do you think it means for a man
and woman to become “one flesh?” (Read Matthew 19:4-6.
This refers to marriage, and perhaps more specifically,
having children.) - Read Matthew 19:3. We discussed this story in an earlier
lesson in this series. Why do you think the Pharisees
wanted to know if an exception could be made to the rule
in Genesis? - Should we have the same reaction today for those who
seek an exception for marriage from the Genesis
requirement? (Jesus rejected exceptions from the
rule.) - How many “Pharisees” do we have today seeking an
exception to the Genesis example of marriage? (The
U.S. Supreme Court has held that marriage between two
people of the same gender is a constitutional right.
More and more people live together without being
married.) - Overview
- Consider the points in Genesis that we have been
discussing. How many of these are under attack today by
the pagan world? (They are all under serious attack.) - Why do you think this is true?
- Re-read Revelation 14:7. If we reject the Creation
account, how likely are we to reject the idea of judgment? - If we believe that we evolved due to chance and
natural selection, how will that impact our respect
for God? How will it affect our desire to give Him
glory? - What does this concerted attack on the theology that
arises from the Creation account suggest about the
existence of Satan? (It makes me think that a
mastermind is in a war against God.) - Friend, will you believe the Creation account? Will you
accept what God has revealed to us about our origins and
our relationship to Him? If you are uncertain, why not ask
the Holy Spirit to open your mind to God’s truth? - Next week: Creation: Genesis as Foundation – Part 2.
