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Genesis points us to Jesus (Gen 2:4).
Prayer
Almighty God your word gives life and brings light and life to all mankind. We pray that as we read your word now, please speak to us by your Holy Spirit. Please renew our minds. Conform us to your desires in our life. Lord, help us. Show us our sins. Strengthen us and be merciful to us. We ask for your blessing and help now as we open your word in Jesus' name. Amen.
Reading
Genesis 2:4.
“These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.”
Meditation
As we begin our meditation today, let me give you a little lesson in Hebrew! There’s an important Hebrew word that you need to understand to make sense of the Book of Genesis, and that word is: “Toledot”. It’s right there in verse four: “These are the generations of…”. That phrase translates this word “Toledot”. There are ten toledots in the book of Genesis, ten narratives, if you like. We’re accustomed to thinking of Genesis as being made up of fifty chapters, but those chapter divisions weren’t inserted until 12th century. No, think of Genesis as ten toledots, and the first of those toledots starts right here in 2:4 with the Edenic Narrative (the next one starts in chapter five).
Now these toledots are designed to do something, to trace the story of different people across the Book of Genesis. Chapter five gives us the Toledot of Adam, chapter 6:9 gives us the Toledot of Noah, chapter ten gives us the Toledot of the sons of Noah, and so on. If you can understand this, you are beginning to think a little bit more like a Hebrew! Basically what a Toledot does is it tells us what became of something. What become of Adam, what became of Noah. But here in 2:4, our Toledot, it’s a little different. We don’t learn about what became of anyone in particular here, which is what the other Toledots do. This first Toledot gives us the story of what became of the heavens and the earth: “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.”
As Moses penned these words, and the people of Israel, who were about to enter the promised land, read and heard them, they would understand where they came from. They would understand what the world was, what humanity was, who God was, and what God was doing in the world – why he made the world.
Be ye doers of the word…
Now let me pause here for a moment, and let’s ask ourselves a question: Why in the world do we need to know about Toledots? Well, let me tell you why, it’s because Toledots direct us to Christ. Why do we need the Book of Genesis? What difference does it make to our lives? In the first place, it makes sense of our lives. If your memory was completely wiped right now, you would have no direction in life. You would have no idea about what to do. You couldn’t find your way home, you wouldn’t know what a home is, you would be sitting in a room full of strangers, and you would be utterly confused and probably scared. Tou wouldn’t know what to do because there would be no reference point in your understanding.
The stories of our lives, as we recall that story, gives us reference points to direct us how to live. It’s an essential part of our view of the world – or worldview. Now that’s true on an individual level, without your personal memory you would be in all sorts of trouble. But it’s also true on a cosmic level. The difference in lifestyle between an atheist and a Christian is significant, and those differences are fundamentally formed by the basic worldview that each person has. An atheist has a completely different conception of the world and history than what we do as Christians, and that conception significantly changes the kinds of decisions they make and the way that they live. The same could be said of adherents to other religions. So we need Genesis to give us this cosmic perspective on history, to show us how the worlds were formed, why the world exists – Genesis makes sense of history.
But there’s an even more significant reason why we need the book of Genesis, and that reason is to point us to Christ. In our reading from Luke 24, we find a very important insight about how the Old Testament works. One of the big issues in the modern church is that we tend to avoid the Old Testament, and I think one of the reasons for that is because we don’t understand how it works. Verse 27 in Luke 24 particularly gives us the very first lesson we need to know when it comes to a foundational knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
The lesson of this verse is that the Old Testament is actually all about Jesus. Notice that phrase there in verse 27: “beginning with Moses…” Now what does that mean? Which books did Moses write? You know the answer! Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy – the Pentateuch. In other words, according to Christ himself, Genesis is all about Christ.
Now just pause for a moment and ask yourself: have I ever considered how Genesis points to Christ? Well, have you? If the answer is “no”, then the application today is to begin learning how to do that, because I’m going to tell you how it points to Christ. I’ve already said it earlier, the toledots point to Christ. Now let me show you how this works. As you work your way through the ten toledots of Genesis, what you notice is that there’s a kind of zooming in. The first toledot – here in 2:4 – starts with the big big picture: “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth”. This is the widescreen tv. The second toledot narrows down to Adam, the third to Noah, the fourth to Noah’s sons. Later on it gets even more focused when we get to the toledot of Abraham, then the toledot of Isaac, then Jacob. In other words, Genesis traces the family tree, or generations, of Israel. But it’s all pointing to him, it’s all speaking about Christ – the true Israel. And that is the most relevant thing possible! Because Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and there is no life without him.
We talked earlier about the big picture of history, and how it started in Eden, and that God’s intention is to bring us back to Eden. Well, there’s only one way back to Eden, and that is by believing in Jesus Christ the Son of God. All of scripture points to him, and all of scripture is a revelation of him. And so I ask you this: Do you know him? Have you believed? Have you come to drink of the water of life? In John 4 as Jesus spoke to the samaritan woman by the well, he said: “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” As we continue on in these studies, this will not be some arcane lesson in ancient things. This will be a constant lesson in how to seek Christ in the Edenic narratives, how to listen for his voice in these scriptures, and in all to be conformed to his will and image in so doing. SDG!
Prayer of Confession & Consecration
Dear Lord, I pray that as I read and study the Book of Genesis, that you would speak to me as you spoke to the disciples on the road to Emmaus all those years ago. Please unfold to me from Moses and the prophets all things concerning yourself. Please renew my vision of the world in which I live, and of the life that you have given me. Please give me a powerful new sense of my identity in you. Please teach me to read the scriptures of the Old Testament, and to hear your voice and to see you through its pages. Lord, let this not be or become something academic, but please walk with me. And please, in all these studies, conform me to your good and perfect image, after the likeness of the Father. Heavenly Father, graciously hear my prayer, and so work by your Spirit’s power that I may live a life ever more glorifying to you. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
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By Reformed devotions from all of scripture.Prayer
Almighty God your word gives life and brings light and life to all mankind. We pray that as we read your word now, please speak to us by your Holy Spirit. Please renew our minds. Conform us to your desires in our life. Lord, help us. Show us our sins. Strengthen us and be merciful to us. We ask for your blessing and help now as we open your word in Jesus' name. Amen.
Reading
Genesis 2:4.
“These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.”
Meditation
As we begin our meditation today, let me give you a little lesson in Hebrew! There’s an important Hebrew word that you need to understand to make sense of the Book of Genesis, and that word is: “Toledot”. It’s right there in verse four: “These are the generations of…”. That phrase translates this word “Toledot”. There are ten toledots in the book of Genesis, ten narratives, if you like. We’re accustomed to thinking of Genesis as being made up of fifty chapters, but those chapter divisions weren’t inserted until 12th century. No, think of Genesis as ten toledots, and the first of those toledots starts right here in 2:4 with the Edenic Narrative (the next one starts in chapter five).
Now these toledots are designed to do something, to trace the story of different people across the Book of Genesis. Chapter five gives us the Toledot of Adam, chapter 6:9 gives us the Toledot of Noah, chapter ten gives us the Toledot of the sons of Noah, and so on. If you can understand this, you are beginning to think a little bit more like a Hebrew! Basically what a Toledot does is it tells us what became of something. What become of Adam, what became of Noah. But here in 2:4, our Toledot, it’s a little different. We don’t learn about what became of anyone in particular here, which is what the other Toledots do. This first Toledot gives us the story of what became of the heavens and the earth: “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.”
As Moses penned these words, and the people of Israel, who were about to enter the promised land, read and heard them, they would understand where they came from. They would understand what the world was, what humanity was, who God was, and what God was doing in the world – why he made the world.
Be ye doers of the word…
Now let me pause here for a moment, and let’s ask ourselves a question: Why in the world do we need to know about Toledots? Well, let me tell you why, it’s because Toledots direct us to Christ. Why do we need the Book of Genesis? What difference does it make to our lives? In the first place, it makes sense of our lives. If your memory was completely wiped right now, you would have no direction in life. You would have no idea about what to do. You couldn’t find your way home, you wouldn’t know what a home is, you would be sitting in a room full of strangers, and you would be utterly confused and probably scared. Tou wouldn’t know what to do because there would be no reference point in your understanding.
The stories of our lives, as we recall that story, gives us reference points to direct us how to live. It’s an essential part of our view of the world – or worldview. Now that’s true on an individual level, without your personal memory you would be in all sorts of trouble. But it’s also true on a cosmic level. The difference in lifestyle between an atheist and a Christian is significant, and those differences are fundamentally formed by the basic worldview that each person has. An atheist has a completely different conception of the world and history than what we do as Christians, and that conception significantly changes the kinds of decisions they make and the way that they live. The same could be said of adherents to other religions. So we need Genesis to give us this cosmic perspective on history, to show us how the worlds were formed, why the world exists – Genesis makes sense of history.
But there’s an even more significant reason why we need the book of Genesis, and that reason is to point us to Christ. In our reading from Luke 24, we find a very important insight about how the Old Testament works. One of the big issues in the modern church is that we tend to avoid the Old Testament, and I think one of the reasons for that is because we don’t understand how it works. Verse 27 in Luke 24 particularly gives us the very first lesson we need to know when it comes to a foundational knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
The lesson of this verse is that the Old Testament is actually all about Jesus. Notice that phrase there in verse 27: “beginning with Moses…” Now what does that mean? Which books did Moses write? You know the answer! Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy – the Pentateuch. In other words, according to Christ himself, Genesis is all about Christ.
Now just pause for a moment and ask yourself: have I ever considered how Genesis points to Christ? Well, have you? If the answer is “no”, then the application today is to begin learning how to do that, because I’m going to tell you how it points to Christ. I’ve already said it earlier, the toledots point to Christ. Now let me show you how this works. As you work your way through the ten toledots of Genesis, what you notice is that there’s a kind of zooming in. The first toledot – here in 2:4 – starts with the big big picture: “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth”. This is the widescreen tv. The second toledot narrows down to Adam, the third to Noah, the fourth to Noah’s sons. Later on it gets even more focused when we get to the toledot of Abraham, then the toledot of Isaac, then Jacob. In other words, Genesis traces the family tree, or generations, of Israel. But it’s all pointing to him, it’s all speaking about Christ – the true Israel. And that is the most relevant thing possible! Because Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and there is no life without him.
We talked earlier about the big picture of history, and how it started in Eden, and that God’s intention is to bring us back to Eden. Well, there’s only one way back to Eden, and that is by believing in Jesus Christ the Son of God. All of scripture points to him, and all of scripture is a revelation of him. And so I ask you this: Do you know him? Have you believed? Have you come to drink of the water of life? In John 4 as Jesus spoke to the samaritan woman by the well, he said: “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” As we continue on in these studies, this will not be some arcane lesson in ancient things. This will be a constant lesson in how to seek Christ in the Edenic narratives, how to listen for his voice in these scriptures, and in all to be conformed to his will and image in so doing. SDG!
Prayer of Confession & Consecration
Dear Lord, I pray that as I read and study the Book of Genesis, that you would speak to me as you spoke to the disciples on the road to Emmaus all those years ago. Please unfold to me from Moses and the prophets all things concerning yourself. Please renew my vision of the world in which I live, and of the life that you have given me. Please give me a powerful new sense of my identity in you. Please teach me to read the scriptures of the Old Testament, and to hear your voice and to see you through its pages. Lord, let this not be or become something academic, but please walk with me. And please, in all these studies, conform me to your good and perfect image, after the likeness of the Father. Heavenly Father, graciously hear my prayer, and so work by your Spirit’s power that I may live a life ever more glorifying to you. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe