THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
DAY 1
GENESIS 1-3
Genesis is a book of the law; it is not a science book or a history book, although it does tell us a lot about history and science belongs to God. While scripture is 100% true, it isn’t always 100% literal.
It’s important to be openminded with our scientific conclusions or opinions that we may hold. It’s even just as important to hold our questions with an open mind, because the Bible isn’t necessarily here to answer our questions, although it will. The Bible is God revealed and that is the reason we have it. The Bible is to reveal God and God is Life.
Genesis chapters 1-3 is a good example of this. Some people believe the days of creation were prolonged periods of time lasting tens of thousands of years. This is called the day age theory, end it is held by many old earth creationist. Most young earth creation is believe God created the earth in six literal days. But the world was not even created in 6 days, it was actually restored in 6 days. There was a pre-Adamic race in known as angels in which 1/3rd were in opposition to God. (You can learn more about this in our MP3 Study Series: Angelic Conflict, aka. Kingdom Conflict.) They lived on the earth but no one knows for how long.
There is nowhere in the Bible that teaches that the earth is 6,000 years old, there’s proof that mankind is around 6,000 years old but there’s even greater proof, - even Biblical proof that the world has been around for thousands of more years. In fact, in Genesis 1:2 we see that there was a time when angels were on this earth without humans ever being here. Ezekiel talks about the fact that Satan was in the Garden of Eden, as the anointed cherub, worshiping God. And there was times on this earth before you and I, or any human being was ever here. And thats what Genesis 1:2 through 1:27 is all about. Its about the restoration of the earth, not the creation. A lot of people think that the world was created in seven days, it was not, it was restored, it was not created.
The Bible tells us in Colossians 1:16, that Jesus Christ created all things by the Word of His power. COL 1:16 for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. Anything that has been created has been created by Jesus Christ.
He even says, In Isaiah 45:7 I create all things I create darkness, I create evil, I make peace and create evil.
And its not that He makes evil happen, but He creates the ones who produce evil such as Satan and the fallen angels. Remember this statement “All sin is evil but not all evil is sin.”
What is clear in this scripture is that God is the creator; none of that was an accident. In Genesis 1:26, God refers to Himself in the plural form: “let us make man in our image”. All three persons of the trinity are present and active at creation: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
The Father gives the creation commands, the Son does the manual labor of creation (John 1:3), and the Holy Spirit hovers over creation, sustaining and approving of it. All three members of the Trinity work in tandem towards the same goal.
It’s important to note that Jesus doesn’t just show up on the scene when he’s born in a manger in the New Testament. Before God the Son took on the name Jesus, He resided in heaven with the Father. He’s been here all along. In fact, will see Him a lot in the Old Testament. Be on the lookout for Him as we navigate through the Bible in a year!
In Genesis 2:4, the word “LORD” is in all caps. This is different from when we see the word spelled “Lord” or “lord”. All lowercase “lord” can refer to anyone who is in charge, like your landlord. When it’s capitalized as Lord, it means “Adonai” the Hebrew word for Master, which is a proper name of God, not just a general term. When you see LORD, it represents an ancient Hebrew spelling of “YHWH”. It has no vowels, so when we try to pronounce it, it sounds like “Yahweh” or “Jehovah”. This is God’s personal name. By telling us His personal name, he’s showing us right up front that He wants to be personal with His creation. He’s not setting Himself apart as one not to be known or spoken to. He tells mankind His name! Despite that, it doesn’t bring Him to our level. YHWH is still Lord (Master), after all.
Later, we see the fall of mankind in the sin of Adam and Eve. Because God is sovereign and isn’t confined to time, nothing surprises Him. They sin doesn’t prevent His plan. No, His plan accounted for there sin. He knew in eternity past that they would do just what they did and we see this in Genesis 2:17. God tells them “in the day that you eat of the tree of [the knowledge of good and evil] you shall surely die.” He didn’t say “ if ”. He said when and that my Royal Family implies certainty. The rest of scripture supports this, letting us know that God wasn’t relegated to Plan B after they ate the fruit, it was always plan A.
When Eve questions God’s goodness, she buys the lie that He’s holding out on her and decides she’d make a better god. That’s when mankind was first fractured by sin, and the world is still fracturing. Not only do many still believe and act on the same lies, but the curses is pronounced over Adam and Eve still resonate in our world today. One part of Eve’s curse that often get’s overlooked is that her desire will be to control and rule over Adam. Sorry ladies, faithful are the wounds of a friend who tells truth… and part of Adams curse is that what he’s in charge of cultivating - will work against him. We see this strain still alive today. God’s mercy has come far and wide now but someday it will be too late for His mercy for those who do not believe in the only begotten Son of God who came to abolish the old law and save us from this thing we call sin. And that is why His grace is what keeps us. The old law has been dealt with at the Cross of Christ, we are no longer to live under the old law. Jesus Christ brought us the new law and that is GRACE! Grace is a free gift to us, it came with a cost and that cost was paid in full, “Tetelestai” it is finished, paid in full and there is nothing we can do to earn or deserve it, it is given freely to every single person born with the breath of life, neshama (soul life) , no matter what they may have done or will do, no matter where they come from or where they will go.
With Adam and Eve God was merciful. Mercy was such a gift to them, and to us that He doesn’t give up on pursuing us, because He’s where the joy is. God is our Creator and He is Lord over everything, but despite His lordship and His perfection, He’s merciful toward the sinners that He’s in a relationship with, if fact, He calls us His children.
He said they would die if they eat of the fruit, but He let’s them live! He doesn’t strike them down on the spot. Anytime we see God hedge on His promises, it’s always on the side of mercy. He doesn’t break promises; He exceeds them. We see it again in Genesis 3:9-10, when they were hiding from Him and lying to Him. Before they even repent, God pursues them out of His great love. At the height of their sin, He continues to show them both mercy and discipline. God’s mercy and His grace is shown throughout the bible and throughout our lives, it is such a gift to us that He doesn’t give up on pursuing us, because He’s where the joy is!
*You may read this to accompany your Bible reading passage before or after you read the scriptures, or both
