Tag: genesis

Women of Genesis Bible Study

The Women of Genesis: Lesson 2

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1

(By way of reminder, this study will be slightly different from our regular studies. We will be taking a more in depth look at the passages of Genesis that focus on the women we’ll be studying and a more generalized overview of the passages in between. Those “in between” passages may be somewhat lengthy, so instead of reprinting them here, I will be linking to those longer passages on Bible Gateway. Simply click on “Read Genesis X:Y-Z” to start reading.)

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Read Genesis 1:1-2:17

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Questions to Consider

1. What is the theme of Genesis 1 and 2? Some people think that Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 are two separate accounts of Creation. Is this true? Explain how Genesis 1 and 2 fit together.

2. Make a list of the attributes and characteristics of God you see in Genesis 1 and 2. Describe the relationship between God and His creation. In what ways do we see the creation submitting to its Creator? Examine what verses 1:2, 1:26, and John 1:1-3 tell us about an important aspect of God’s nature. Describe the ways we see each member of the Trinity present and involved in Creation.

3. What are some specific ways Genesis 1 and 2 stand in opposition to evolution, the Big Bang Theory, etc.? Did God leave anything imperfect or incomplete on any of the days of creation? How do the “good”ness (1:31) and perfection of Creation reflect the goodness and perfection of God?

4. What method did God use (1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24) for creating everything except man? What method did God use for creating man? (2:7-8) What does this demonstrate about the uniqueness of human beings as well as God’s special love and care for humans?

5. What sets human beings apart from the rest of creation? (1:26-27) What does it mean to be made in the “image” and “likeness” of God? What responsibilities and instructions did God give Adam and Eve when He created them? (1:28-30)

6. Summarize 2:7-15 in your own words. What do we learn about God, the earth, and Adam from this passage?

7. Who is God instructing in 2:15-17? Was Eve present for these instructions? What did God tell Adam in these verses? Why did God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Eden if He didn’t want Adam to eat from it? How might God have been using this tree to teach Adam to trust, obey, honor, and submit to Him? What should God’s instruction about this tree have taught Adam about God’s authority and His right to rule over both Adam and all of Creation?

Homework

For the next six days, choose something God created on each one of the six days of Creation. Write down how that thing brings glory to God, how it reflects God’s nature or attributes, and how you or another Christian could use it to spread the gospel, build up the church, encourage or teach others, etc. Pray, thanking God for that part of His Creation.

Suggested Memory Verse

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1

Women of Genesis Bible Study

The Women of Genesis: Lesson 1

Michelle Lesley

Welcome to our new study, The Women of Genesis! Over the next few months, we’ll read through the entire book of Genesis, stopping along the way to give special attention to women like Eve, Sarah, Rachel, and others. We’ll examine their roles in biblical history, how their stories point us to Christ, and what we can learn from them as Christian women, wives, or mothers today.

Many thanks to those who worked so hard on their entries for our title pic contest. I’ve selected the lovely image above, by Cheryl Toepfer, as the official title picture for this study. As Cheryl explains:

When I took this photo, my thought was that no matter the photo subject, the light is always the star of the show…If you notice the petals on the flower, they are marred. One is torn. But the light in the photo makes this daisy pop right out of the frame, and it’s easy to ignore its imperfections. That’s how I see the women in Genesis: marred and torn by sin, but made beautiful and useful because of their faith in God. Which is our story today as well! We are lights in the world because of Christ’s saving and sanctifying work in our lives–in spite of our sin nature!

For more beautiful photography, follow Cheryl on Facebook or Instagram.

Thanks also go to these two “honorable mention” entries:


by Trace Hanson

by Augusta Lee Branch

Introduction to The Women of Genesis

Before we begin studying a book of the Bible, it’s very important that we understand some things about that book. We need to know…

Who the author was and anything we might be able to find out about him or his background.

Who the audience of the book is: Jews or Gentiles? Old Testament Israelites or New Testament Christians? This will help us understand the author’s purpose and approach to what he’s writing.

What kind of biblical literature we’re looking at. We approach books of history differently than books of wisdom, books of wisdom differently than books of prophecy, etc.

What the purpose of the book is. Was it written to encourage? Rebuke? Warn?

What the historical backdrop is for the book. Is Israel at war? At peace? In exile? Under a bad king? Good king? Understanding the historical events surrounding a piece of writing help us understand what was written and why it was written.

When the book was written. Where does the book fall on the timeline of biblical history? This is especially important for Old Testament books which are not always arranged in chronological order.

So this week, before we start studying the actual text of the book of Genesis, we need to lay the foundation to understanding the book by finding the answers to these questions.

Read the following overviews of the book of Genesis, taking notes on anything that might aid your understanding of the book, and answer the questions below:

Bible Introductions: Genesis at Grace to You

Overview of the Book of Genesis at Reformed Answers

Book of Genesis at Got Questions

1. Who wrote the book of Genesis? How do we know this? What does the title “Genesis” mean in Hebrew?

2. Approximately when was Genesis written, and what is the approximate time span this book covers? Where, geographically, do the events in Genesis take place? Here are some maps (scroll down to “Genesis”) that may be helpful as you study through the book of Genesis.

3. Who is the original, intended audience of the book of Genesis?

4. Which genre of biblical literature is the book of Genesis: law, history, wisdom, poetry, narrative, epistles, or prophecy/apocalyptic? What does this this tell us about the approach we should take when studying this book versus our approach to books of other genres?

5. What is the theme or purpose of the book of Genesis?

6. Who are some of the main characters and what are some of the major events in the book of Genesis? How do these stories relate to the theme of Genesis?

7. What are some ways Genesis points to and connects to Jesus?

8. What else did you learn about Genesis or the setting of this book that might help you understand the text of the book better?

Throwback Thursday, Types and Shadows

Throwback Thursday ~ In the Shadow of the Son

Michelle Lesley

Originally published March 6, 2013shadow son

Once, there was a father who sent his beloved son on a journey far away from home. The son was to seek out the father’s other children who had been separated from the father for quite some time. Quite willingly, the son went.

But when the son arrived at his destination, he found that his brothers had strayed away from where they were supposed to be, seeking greener pastures. So the son went after them and found them. He met them right where they were.

His brothers saw their father’s favored son coming for them. They hated him and everything he said and stood for because they knew he was to be in authority over them. It had been foretold. They conspired to kill him and bury him in a pit. Then, the prophecy of his authority over them would not come true.

The brothers stripped him of his robe and drenched it in the blood of an animal they had sacrificed for this purpose. They stripped him of his dignity, his favored status, and, if possible, his father’s love and approval. It was an attempted coup to knock the prince off his throne.

When they were finished, they threw him into a pit that had never held another man’s body. They sat down to eat, returning to life as usual.

But it wasn’t enough. Revenge is a meal that never satiates.

The brothers determined to turn the favored son over to a rough pack of wealthy heathens. They wouldn’t dirty their hands to kill him. Their brother’s life would rest in the hands of foreigners who had no part in their family line. And so the son’s fate was sealed.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Isaiah 53:8-9

His closest brother sold him out for pieces of silver, for the price of a slave. Life, as he knew it, was over.

Later, another brother would peer into the pit to see what had become of him. “He is gone!” the brother discovered to his great distress and sadness. Little did he know that the favored son had risen up out of the pit. He would rise in power to deliver the very brothers who had hated him and plotted his death, as well as myriads of others who didn’t even know him.

Who was this favored son? He is the One who has taken away our reproach and added us as sons and daughters into God’s family. He is Joseph, the forefather. He is Jesus, the Son.

Based on Genesis 37.

Faith, Sin

The “Forbidden Fruit” Fallacy

Michelle Lesley

You’ve heard the old adage: “forbidden fruit is sweeter.” When people use this phrase, what they mean is that if you tell someone he can’t have or do something, he’s going to want to have or do it all the more just because it’s forbidden.

I heard this little cliché several times last week on blogs, on Facebook, in discussion groups, etc., in reference to the deluge (yes, I contributed to it) of Christian blog and press articles decrying the movie Fifty Shades of Grey, and discouraging Christians from attending. Apparently – and I can see where they’re coming from, a little, I guess – some folks felt that the strong, repetitive, and biblical stand against Fifty Shades turned it into a piece of forbidden fruit that a) actually informed Christians (who would have been otherwise oblivious) that this movie even existed (Really? People are tech savvy enough to be on Facebook, Twitter, and blogs, but they were completely unaware of this movie? Ok, I suppose it’s possible.) and b) made Christians want to go see the movie because of its verboten status. The implication was that, if Christians went to see this movie, it was the fault – at least in part – of Christian writers who had warned against it.

Seems reasonable, right?

Until, that is, you start looking at this line of thinking a little more closely through the lens of Scripture.

Pop quiz: What does the phrase “forbidden fruit” allude to?
a) prunes
b) Snow White’s poisoned apple
c) the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Eden

Please tell me you answered “c,” because, if you didn’t, I might have to sit down and cry. When God put Adam in the Garden way back in Genesis 2, He said, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (2:16-17) Fruit. Forbidden. Boom.

Notice that God is the One who forbade Adam from eating this fruit. God’s way, throughout the entirety of Scripture, is to warn the people He loves of the dangers and consequences of sin, not to remain silent and keep His fingers crossed that they don’t stumble into a pit. God didn’t stick the tree in the middle of the Garden and say to Himself, “Gee I hope Adam doesn’t notice this tree and eat from it, but I’m not going to mention it to him because I’m scared that I’ll make him aware that it exists, and that he’ll want to eat from it just because I said he can’t.” Uh uh. God pointed it out and said, “No.”

God’s way, throughout the entirety of Scripture, is to warn the people He loves of the dangers and consequences of sin, not to remain silent and keep His fingers crossed that they don’t stumble into a pit.

And let’s take a gander at something else in this story. What caused Adam and Eve to eat from the tree? Was it God telling Adam not to eat from it? No. If that was all it took, why don’t we find Adam eating the fruit immediately after God told him not to? Why didn’t Eve immediately eat from the tree upon learning from Adam of God’s prohibition against it?

Because the warning is not what led them to sin.

We don’t see Eve lay a finger on that fruit until Satan enters the picture. He tempted her, and she gave in to sin.

It wasn’t God’s fault for putting the tree there. It wasn’t God’s fault for warning them. It was Adam’s fault and Eve’s fault for being disobedient.

And giving in to sin is still our fault today. If you went to see Fifty Shades of Grey, it’s not God’s fault for allowing the movie to exist. It’s not some Christian blogger’s fault for making you aware of the movie or warning you not to see it. It’s your fault. You were tempted. You gave in to sin. (The good news is that if you will repent, God will graciously forgive you.)

As Christians we are to be imitators of God. “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:6) That means that when we see sin that could easily ensnare our brothers and sisters, we don’t turn our heads. We don’t mind our own business. We don’t keep our mouths shut to be polite. We do the same thing God did time after time in the Bible. We run into the fray to rescue those we love.

When we see sin that could easily ensnare our brothers and sisters, we don’t turn our heads. We don’t mind our own business. We don’t keep our mouths shut to be polite. We run into the fray to rescue those we love.

And we are not to blame if there are those who choose to charge headlong into sin rather than heed the alarm we sound.

Creation, Evolution, Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday ~ Tru Dat

Michelle Lesley

Originally published September 2, 2013tru dat

“God is not man, that he should lie,” Numbers 23:19

“God, who never lies,” Titus 1:2

“It is impossible for God to lie,” Hebrews 6:18

God tells us in Genesis 1 (and reiterates it elsewhere in Scripture) that He created the world by speaking everything into existence. There’s nothing that exists that came into being apart from His creating it (John 1:3). He created all plant and animal life “according to their kind” on successive days of creation, and He created man separately and in His own image. This does not allow for the (macro) evolutionary idea that bacteria changed into an animal, which changed into another kind of animal, which changed into another kind of animal, which changed into man.

As Christians, we are called to believe God’s word simply by virtue of the fact that He said it. As Christians, we can also believe secular science and history insofar as it supports, or does not conflict with, God’s word. But there’s another good reason to believe God over man:

God doesn’t lie, and He’s never wrong.

Man does lie. Man is frequently wrong.

Which makes more sense, purely from a logical standpoint? To cast your lot with Someone who doesn’t lie and is never wrong, or to cast your lot with someone who does, and is?

God doesn’t lie. When He tells us something in His word, we can trust it, regardless of what man may say to the contrary.

 Today (February 12, 2015) is Question Evolution Day.

QE_Day_1_12_2012_C

“Question Evolution Day has several purposes. One is very basic, to support people who want to say, “I don’t believe in evolution, here are my reasons…” A second is to show people that there is indeed scientific evidence refuting evolution and supporting creation. Third, we hope to prompt people to consider evidence against evolution and supporting creation that they may have not known about before. Another purpose of QED is to equip Christians with resources so they can confidently stand up for the faith.” 

Click here for more great information on
Creation science and Question Evolution Day.