Genesis Part 1 - Disciples Path Ministry.com

Regardless of how well-read anyone is in the Bible, I strongly believe in the opening chapters of Genesis. Everyone must examine what is written there and at least attempt to open their minds to the possibility of seeing Genesis through a different and much deeper lens. I recall hearing in a talk once that the best reason for this second look is that these chapters have sparked many heated debates or arguments at various times in our history. So, if many people have such strong opinions and feelings about these chapters, we owe it to the author(s) to dive deeply into all the possible meanings of the words presented and the how and why. That exercise means opening ourselves to reflecting on the chapters from different perspectives. It doesn't mean we must change our understanding, but we are doing all we can to explore the truth, regardless of the means we must employ to do so. I have long thought and taught that if one cannot understand and receive the first four words of the Bible, then the rest of the Bible will make no sense, and you won't be able to understand, much less receive what the Bible is trying to say to you.

 In our modern culture, especially with the advent of the internet, people are more concerned with technical, exacting, precise aspects versus meaning. For example, were Adam and Eve human beings? That will spark the debate, which, in my opinion, falls short of what one should draw from the "meaning" of words. Isn't it possible that knowing Adam means "humanity" and Eve means "life" is of greater importance to the message than being told whether they were human? Yes, one can argue for and against what I just stated and asked; however, that would demonstrate and prove what I am attempting to do in this narrative – spark a serious interest in viewing Genesis and all future Bible study from a different perspective. If you can "catch on" to this new perspective, you will read the rest of the Bible with fresh eyes. You will hear Scripture with new ears. Regardless of where you are currently in your Bible study, using a different lens to read Scripture is both fun and exciting, thought-provoking, and potentially life-altering. I will admit that the process can be challenging at first until you get the hang of the new method. Even so, I still sometimes forget to use my new lens, to be honest.

Let me start by stating that I am confident I am not alone in this thought. Context is critical. One will never be able to understand Christ Jesus, His life, ministry, death, resurrection, and overall purpose for coming and physically walking among us without first understanding the first eleven pages of the Book of Genesis. The reason I say this will become abundantly clear as we work through this study,

As we read Genesis, we must not allow our minds to wander into modern-day biology, science, horticulture, and so on. We must reap slowly and reflect on – MEANING. By reading for "meaning," the beginning of Genesis will provide not only answers about Christ Jesus but will answer questions we have about ourselves, our meaning, our purpose, and our existence. Words mean what the words used mean to the person who says them.

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. ³ Then God said, "Let there be light; and there was light. ⁴ And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. (Gen. 1-5, NKJV) Take a moment, close your eyes, and reflect on what you mentally visualize when you read or think about those verses. Let's examine the phrase "heavens and earth," a term frequently used in the Hebrew Bible and literature. Essentially, because of the time the authors wrote, they meant the sky and the land. In other words, what's up there and what's down here. In our modern era, we hear the word Earth and visualize a sphere or globe. However, remember that even though the ancients reportedly discovered the Earth was round as early as the third century, using basic mathematical and geometrical models, this discovery wasn't widely accepted until the 15^th century (scienceabc.com). What was in the author's mind when he thought of writing the word "earth?" Next, add in the words - darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. So, it was dark, and "something" was in deep water? Let's take a moment again to reflect on the thought the author was trying to convey some three thousand years ago, considering he wasn't using English; it was written in Hebrew. Am I beating a dead horse here? Okay, in a nutshell, we must read and try to understand what is written in the Bible through the lens of:

          1. Another time (ancient time)

          2. Another language

          3. Another culture.

This circles back to the word–context again.

From our previous GENESIS Overview, we learned the Hebrew word Bere'shith, roughly means "In Beginning" [based on 1:1]; Gk Geneseos, "Of Birth" [based on 2:4]. Let's look at the first three words of Genesis – In the beginning. This is where the debates begin. When was the beginning? How did it happen? Where did it happen? I posit that those questions are not nearly as critical to understanding the Bible's story as humbling ourselves to the point where we will accept that the Bible is not written to provide specific answers to all our specific questions. In the beginning, God Created the heavens and the earth. Now, let's get on with the story because there is so much more that God wants to tell us, which He believes is far more important than filling in what must be inconsequential answers to our questions. In the South, we say, "There are bigger fish to fry." Have you ever thought that the answer(s) aren't written there because what is of greater importance is for us to reflect on the things the author thought were important enough to share? What I am about to say might sound confusing, but I believe the statement has truths and facts. We can have good context without giving weight to minutia. Let's continue. ² The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Even without debating over a translation of the words, we can draw from this verse that there was utter chaos here. This was no place for anything to survive. The old way is to debate what without form and void means, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Using our new lens, let's reexamine this Verse. Using our new lens, we say it was utter chaos here and cannot support any kind of life. The words matter for context, but the minutia is unimportant to the overall meaning we should draw from the verse. The author is doing his best to paint a picture using the tools available to him at that time. He knows the complete picture is what is essential, not explaining where he got his paint. The last part of Verse 2 states, "And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." God was there. Then, in Verse 3, something amazing happens – God speaks! God oversaw the chaos but completely controlled it because He Created it. Knowing what He intends to accomplish, he speaks and begins to bring order to the chaos. The chaos remains. It's part of our world even today; however, He begins to Create spaces where life can be and flourish. Continuing, ³ Then God said, "Let there be light; and there was light. ⁴ And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day (NKJV). Using the old lens and reading that Verse, we invite debate. Where did the light come from? Using our new lens, we see where the author was trying to convey the idea, not a thing, i.e., the sun not being a thing, but a period where the idea is that light turns into dark and returns to light. The author shows us the beginning of God Creating some order out of the chaos. How? By Creating a sense of time, or, in other words, a sense of order. The author isn't trying to describe God Creating a "thing" but rather Creating some order in the chaos. In other words, the author isn't trying to tell us about a "thing" but rather paint a picture of the beginning of order amidst the chaos that came about with God "speaking" everything into existence. I don't mean to beat a dead horse here, but everything we are studying relies on a thorough understanding of how to apply this new perspective or way of understanding the text. The author appears to imply that some chaos will exist in the world, but God has Created safe and beautiful spaces for life to flourish here. He Created everything we and all of Creation will ever need to grow. God Created everything by speaking it into existence.

Briefly, let's examine what the author has accomplished thus far in his writing. In the first three days, God is not just Creating things but ordering environments. Time. Day two, weather – the waters above, the waters below. Agriculture. An interesting point to reflect on here is that the author refers explicitly to fruit trees, not Elms or Palm trees. It is almost as if the author strategically places everything in a specific order so that he can use it later in his writing, foreshadowing future events in the Bible. Again, the author is not providing us with exact answers to everything, but rather what we need to know to make sense of the rest of his story. Traditionally, we have attempted to establish a chronological order for the beginning of Genesis using today's rationalization, logic, biology, and other forms of science. But I believe the author was trying to tell us that we live in a world Created by a loving, wonderful, imaginative, and creative mind that Creates beauty and wonders out of chaos. Let's continue.

After God had brought order out of chaos and Created various forms of life, we are told, in my opinion, and I am not alone in this, the central cause or reason for what He Created thus far. He wants, out of boundless love, to share His Creation. Using the old lens, people and scholars frequently debate the question, Why did God Create everything? The list of possible reasons is long and, at times, appears counterintuitive, in my opinion. Using our new lens, we no longer need to be concerned with that question, as it is evident that God wants to share, and the desire to share is rooted in His eternally boundless love. It is crucial to our success in this new perspective on reading the Book of Genesis that we consistently remain focused on applying our new lens. Context is essential, but getting bogged down by old lens minutia isn't. We stay laser-focused on meaning, not technicalities. God has Created safe spaces out of chaos and says it is good. Everything He has Created thus far, He says, is good. Remember always that He said it is good. He never said, implied, or used the word perfect! That one point can throw even the best scholars off the mark in their interpretation of Scripture. Everything Created requires attention to continue, because it is good, but not perfect. To continue, and with the desire to share, God Creates, in His image, Man to oversee what has been Created. This brings us to Chapter 1, Verse 26. ²⁶ Then God said, "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" (NKJV). For an exercise, let's examine the beginning of that first sentence through our new lens (perspective). Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. We can easily find the translations for the words "image" and "likeness." However, let's take a moment to reflect on the word ‘image'. What is an image? Is an image an exact copy of the original? No, it is more like a reflection of the original. How about the word likeness? Now, this word goes a bit deeper. I say this because a likeness would include more intimate details of the original than a mere reflection would. Another example or explanation is that a photograph of you is your image, but you can't tell anyone anything more about you than what you probably look like. A likeness of yours would reveal more details about your personality and how you think and perceive your environment. Again, I hope I am not beating a dead horse here. Let's move on.

God Created everything. He desires to share everything and has now Created something to take care of everything. This brings up the question of why this story doesn't end here. It certainly appears God finished everything He set out to accomplish, right? As we continue to learn and read, we discover a significant problem. Man isn't satisfied with simply being like God. No, they want to BE God. They aren't happy with merely being images of God and don't want to steward over what God has Created and given them. They want to, again, BE God and run everything for themselves as they wish. Using our new lens, we now understand that this first "issue" will be the recurring theme throughout the Bible.

In conclusion, our primary and most critical takeaway, from Genesis 1 must be to understand the following:

In your journal or workbook, write the above 5 points. Write a brief summary illustrating that you understand those points, and be prepared to discuss what you write. There is no word count, so your writing can be short, as long as it shows that you understand clearly. Have fun with this. Yes, it takes some time and effort; however, you will soon learn that this "journaling" can be fun and that, within a short amount of time, you will understand and follow along with everything in future exercises with a new and exciting outlook. Don’t forget to date your writing!