01 January

Bible in 365 Days

Genesis 1-3

Genesis 1

The opening sentence of the Book of Genesis is an interpretation of the fact "that what is seen hath not been made out of things which do appear" (Hebrews 11:3), and accounts for the things which are seen. The whole chapter, and, indeed, all subsequent Scripture, must be read in the light of this statement as to origins. This sentence is followed immediately by a declaration, without detail, of a cataclysm which overtook the earth. It then proceeds to show how the God who created the earth restored the earth to fruitfulness and order. God is here revealed in the threefold fact of His existence. The chaotic earth is seen held in the embrace of the Spirit, Who is described as brooding over it. The Word of God is heard expressing the will of God. Thus God is seen speaking the purpose of His mind in word and doing His will though the activity of the Spirit.

The purpose of this restoring process is seen in the creation of an entirely new being: Man. This being is revealed as having direct relationship with God, being made in His image and likeness. Here the deepest truth concerning man's nature, that of its spirituality, is not declared. Consequently there is here no reference to his moral nature, except as both of these may be implied in the fact of his being in the image and likeness of God.

The chapter reveals a universe rooted in the thought and activity of God, and of man as being His offspring. The acceptance of these declarations gives to the mind a sense of the majesty of all-being, thus creating a radiant background against which the darkness of subsequent history will be seen and understood more clearly. Any other view of the universe and man fails to understand the real nature of evil.

Genesis 2

This chapter gives us a fuller account of man. Three distinct movements are chronicled in the brief but comprehensive account.

First, "God formed man of the dust." The Hebrew word "formed" is ya'sar  suggests the figure of the potter, molding to shape, material already existing. It is a scientific fact that all the elements in man's physical life are found in the dust of the ground.

Second, "God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." This is the final divine act, mysterious and incomprehensible, indicating the communication to the dust, of the very life of God.

Finally, "man became a living soul." The Hebrew word "nephesh", here translated "soul," refers to complete personality. This being is now placed in an environment which demands his care and cultivation. His relationship as subject to the sovereignty of God is sacramentally symbolized for him in a tree. He can only fulfil the highest function of his being only as he is living and acting within the will of God. By supernatural action, the man is completed in the woman. Here the declaration is most significant. "God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them" (Genesis 1:27).

In God are fatherhood and motherhood, parenthood and childhood. This great chapter on human nature ideally reveals it in its relationship with God, in being and in purpose. The ultimate meaning of this is not revealed here and will be known only in the ages to come, when, beyond all failure, the divine thought and purpose are fulfilled.

Genesis 3

Here begins the second section of the Book of Genesis. As the first has answered questions concerning creation, the second replies to questions asked in the presence of sin and suffering and sorrow.

The story of this chapter is simple and yet sublime in its interpretation of human history as we are familiar with it. Man is seen in individual innocence and racial immaturity. To him an evil personality, radiant in appearance, makes an appeal. The appeal, in the last analysis, is a questioning of the goodness and moral integrity of God.

The fall of man consisted of one thing: his consent to listen to any such appeal and in the consequent failure of faith, resulting in his violation of God's Divine Law. At once fear in the human soul is manifested. Faith and fear are mutually exclusive. So long as faith governs, fear is impossible. It is within this immutable, timeless fact where man's only hope lies. Man may attempt to hide from God, but he can never escape Him.

God is revealed wondrously in His dealings with the situation. His first question thrills with pathos, "Where art thou?" In all that followed there is evident the differentiation of the strictest justice. The serpent is cursed. The sentence on the woman is that in the distinctive exercise of her nature, that of motherhood, she shall be wrapped in sorrow. In that connection, however, the first prophetic word of hope was uttered: of the seed of the woman shall come the Deliverer. The sentence on the man is that, in the highest activity of his life, that of toil, he shall know weariness. Behind all the movements of law there moves the heart of love, and this is finally seen in the exclusion of Adam and Eve from the tree of life in order that they might not perpetuate the conditions into which they had passed as the result of sin.